So's the Bronx
by Raggazzed12
Summary: Some Bronx newsies go to visit the Manhattan group, and Micky gets unexpectedly pulled into an adventure of danger and hurt, and all through it friendship is what keeps him and Crutchy struggling onward.
1. Chapter 1

By: Raggazzed12

Disclaimer: I do not own Kid Blink, Crutchy, Racetrack, Spot Conlon, Mush, Kloppman, or any of the original newsies even though I wish I owned Crutchy. But I do own the houseman, John, Parker, Red, Tommy Cat, Micky, Checkers, Roller, Maple, Don, the policemen, the judge, the family, Rock, Jam, the gang, (okay I own the whole Bronx group) the extra street people, Crutchy's made-up father, Flip, Spot Conlon's made up gang, and anyone else who is non-original.

Chapter One

Bright early in the morning, I awoke to the sound of yelling. It was the houseman named John, but we all called him the houseman. He was otherwise known as the landlord or even Billy to some. He was, at the moment, screaming "Get up you lazy clods!" , and we all were groaning in reply. But finally some people willed themselves to get up. Jam, the boy across from my bunk, came over and looked at me.

"Alright, I'll hand you your crutch." he said.

I hopped out on one foot and he handed me my crutch. Then Jam told me he was going to leave me to sell by himself today and that he would not be going with me or Checkers. I didn't disagree ; I often had felt that I was in Jam's way of, well, everything.

"I'se gonna be out deres selling papes from mornin' ta noon. Den I's gotta come back heah an' clean da room. It's youse turn tomorra', Jam." said a sleepy Parker. He was always telling us what to do, but wasn't really a designated leader. And he didn't really like me, nor I him.

"Alright, I'se will. But don't count on it." Jam shouted from the doorway. Parker came up to me as I was tying my shoe.

"Youse gonna do it tomorra' if Jam don't." he said, sneering and pushing me backwards slightly, grabbing my crutch, which caused me to fall to the floor.

"Hey! Get aways from 'im!"shouted Checkers, who was the leader. "Youse alright, Micky?"he asked me with worry in his eyes. I nodded, holding back a cry of pain and outrage and maybe some tears.

"What? Jus' doing my job." said Parker.

" Don't youse pretend wid me, I saw ya do dis. Get outta heah an' go of ta youse sellin' spot."Checkers growled. Parker shrugged. I had managed to stand up and now desperately fought the urge to knock Parker over.

"Parks, Micky never done nuttin' to youse. Stop hurtin' him." said Roller, who was busy washing his face. Parker sighed and made to move away, but the urge overpowered me and I stuck out my crutch, and knocked him over. Parker groaned. "Aside from dat." Roller took back what he had said, but he was smirking as he said it.

The other boys cheered slightly and Parker got up and walked out. I hobbled next to Checkers as we walked out and left the lodging house. He was a blue-eyed, blond haired boy who was about 15 and was always protecting us weaker folk. But how he had ever wanted to become friends with me, the black haired, hazel-eyed, crippled, 13 year old me, I had no idea.

There were many fake crippled boys who pretended to be crippled to sell papes, but then there were a few "genuine", as Checkers and others said, _real_ cripples who weren't faking it and often got extra money for our legs. I was one of about 5 or 7 that roamed the streets everyday. If we stood up straight, we would be surprisingly tall. I would be about 5'6, and I was often known to be rather solitary, most figured it was because of my size. In truth, it was just because I was always like that and never gave it a second though. I had lived here in The Bronx all of my life. It wasn't the most impressive place, but this didn't stop us from selling papes. We couldn't afford that.

"Micky, what's it take ta ge' it trugh Parker's head dat he ain't boss?" asked Checkers. We were heading down the street to Manhattan, which would take a while, and now we were back on the subject of Parker.

"I dunno. Maybe we'se gotta jus' let 'im trugh it, I's guess, I sure its' a phase." I replied, wondering why Checkers paid so much attention to me. I was only 13, as I said, and not really interesting. But we were often together.

Now, as I said, there were only a few real cripples that I knew, and I know all of their names. But there was one in Manhattan named Crutchy Morris. He was different than the rest of us and was extremely nice and was to everyone, even the ones everyone else hated. He is very tall, but as in the same case for most of us, had to bend over. But I'd always jump at the chance to go to Manhattan for a day. Today was one of those days, and only Checkers, Roller, Maple (one of the two girls in our group), and I, were going to Manhattan. The other two were walking on the other side of Checkers.

We would, of course, walk. I didn't have to work, well, we didn't have to work since this was okay do occasionally. So as we made our way into the center of New York, the heart of it, Checkers, Roller, Maple, and I were silent. When we hit one of the main streets, there were people everywhere. The rich, and the common folk, ( but were considered rich by us) were everywhere. People gave me looks. Young boys were to be found playing together everywhere and girls stood by often holding babies. When we passed by them, they stopped and basically stared. A woman who was sitting on a curb talking to some other women, I supposed her friends, stopped and watched as well. They all did, except for the workers going to work. Cripples didn't seem to come here very often, and I mentioned it to Checkers.

"Hey, da youse tink dere are many crips round heah, 'cause I tink dere ain't." I whispered to him, Roller and Maple were talking to each other.

"I's guess youse are right. But don't worry, dis is okay, noone 'ill hurt youse." he said. But I didn't know whether to believe him or not. Everyone was watching me except the newsies selling on the corners.

Those newsies just waved or nodded to us as we passed. We would return it. Finally, Checkers came upon a kid who was selling papes in Times Square. I knew who he was, in fact, it was Kid Blink himself.

"Well, I'll bes. Whatcha doin' heah, Blink?" asked Checkers. Roller and Maple came up to us, having been slower.

"Oh, jus' sellin' papes in da busy part. Hiya Checkers, Roller, Micky, an' who's dis goil?" he asked, smiling. His eyepatch wasn't frightening to any of us except maybe Maple, who looked a bit intimidated.

"Heya Blink. Dis is Maple." Roller said.

"Hmm. Maple, eh?" Blink said, looking at her. She nodded. "Well incase noone told ya, I be Kid Blink. Now, wha' youse guys doin' 'round heah?"

"We jus' in for one of our visits."Checkers replied.

"Yeah youse are. Come alon', noone cares if I take da day off. It's okay, really. I got a bit of money anyway." Blink said when Checkers tried to apologize. "Is can't sells nothin' wid what's been goings on heah."

"'kay. Take us wid youse." Checkers gave in.

Kid Blink got up and we followed him. After a long walk, but no stares at me, we hit what a lot of people call "Newsies Square" because the distribution center and the lodging house are nearby and the newsies tend to live there, practically. Here, newsies were grouping for an early lunch and among them were many of whom Checkers, Roller, and I had grown to know. Blink led us to the small building where everyone was grouped. It was "Tibby's", a restaurant/bar that the newsies also inhabited a lot. Each of them greeted Blink and greeted us. Blink opened the door and we walked in. A few newsies had already come inside, and we went to a table in a corner.

"So, what's been goin' on heah?" asked Checkers once the five of us had sat down.

"Well, youse see, deres been problems wid people all ovah, and oder dan dat, nothing interesting. We'se jus' got news, bu' nothin' interesting or new." replied Blink casually. "Wha' 'bout youse?"

"We'se got da same kinda problems. But da headlines are mighty dull." I answered.

"Yeah, usually deres somethin' going on." Blink nodded. "Yeah. But do youse mind if we's move ta a bigger table, I thought dat dis one woul' work, but wes got two more comin'."

Checkers didn't care, and so Blink took us to a bigger table in a different corner. Once we sat down, the other company came. We found that Race was suddenly sitting next to Blink. He looked at Maple. Racetrack Higgins was a short Italian boy with a few freckles on his face and brown hair, and always had a cigar in his mouth, no matter what was going on. He wore dark colors of grey and green.

"Who's dis?" he asked.

"Her name's Maple. Maple, dis is Racetrack Higgins, called dat fer his gambling at da races an' tendency to drag dat inta every conversation."Roller said. "Race, dis is Maple, a newbie an' da only oder girl aside from Cat, but she ain't heah."

Race nodded at Maple. She was surveying the boy.

"How ol' are ya?" she asked him.

"16. Jus' short, dat's all." he answered.

"Where did ya leave-?" asked Blink.

"Awe, he's acoming. Jus' had ta ge' rid of his last pape, not dat he needs da extry money. He ge' plenty." replied Race. Blink nodded.

And soon enough, well, sure enough, the other company turned up. It was a cripple with brown hair and green eyes, and he had a slightly boyish face with a few freckles. He was tall, well, sort of , due to his crutch it shortened him, and thin as a rake basically. It was Crutchy. I'd met him only twice before and not for long, but he had been nice enough.

"Think deres room for one more cripple?" he asked, jokingly. Blink nodded and Crutchy sat in the chair next to mine.

"Crutchy, dis is Maple. Maple, dis is Crutchy." Blink said, and Crutchy nodded at Maple, who was surveying him now.

"We's got ta do somethin' 'bout the size of dis table." said Race.

"No, it be fine. Don't worry 'bout it. So, why did youse guys come?" asked Blink.

"Jus' one our friendly drop ins." replied Checkers.

"Aye, friendly alright. Or we's migh' not be so nice." Crutchy said, nodding.

"Well, dat's why we's come ta youse. Spot's not gonna be so nice if I'se walk in dere wid a group of people." said Checkers. Blink looked over at him and didn't say anythin' for a moment.

"Say, did ya go ta da theater last night?" asked Racetrack, who was clearly eager to talk about it.

"Yeah. But we's ain't dere for long. Dere was some sorta scandel wid money, and da firs' ones dey came ta were da newsies. Well, dey for some reason don't like ta have cripples in dere, an' so dey suspected it was me." I replied glumly. Crutchy looked at me, I could feel his interest and anger perking up at this.

"What do ya mean?" he asked.

"Well, seeing as I said dat dey don't like crips, dey suspected it was me da next ting I knew an' I was thrown out." I replied. Crutchy looked indignant.

"Is dat true?" he asked Checkers.

"'fraid so. Yeah, I guess. I wasn't dere wid him, we sen' Jam home wid him." Checkers said.

"It is true. Dey did sen' him home. I was in dat group." said Maple looking at Crutchy. "Dey came ovah an' said "' Ge' out, youse are da one who did it. Wese know.'" An' den dey grabbed him and Jam came runnin' and walked ou' wid him."

Roller was nodding. He had been there as well. I had been so frightened that they were going to put me in The Refuge that night I can't describe it. Crutchy looked confused and slightly angry, Race was quiet, and Blink was pretty struck by the idea as well. He was muttering to himself. Then the arrival of yet another Manhattan newsies was made. It was Mush.

"Blink, hey, Blink! Looky heah!" he said, excitedly and was basically jumping up and down with joy even though he was about 15 years old.

"Wha' s dat?" Kid Blink said as the newsie handed him a paper. "Hot diggety dog, looky heah is right! Somethin' dat's gonna sell those papes like nutin' I've seen in a year since dat war!"

"What is it?" asked Crutchy, suddenly interested.

"Oh, dat buildin' on Times Square catche' fire. I wasn't dere ta see it. Bu' none da less, dat's gonna pay. Ain't dat pretty, boys?" Blink enthusiastically replied.

"Aren't ya gonna have problems sellin' it ?" asked Maple. "I mean, from da civilians point of view, dey are going to be sad, right?"

"How long 'ave youse been a newsie?" asked Blink, glaring at her.

"Since two weeks ago." she said.

"Look, da firs' ting you learn is dat folks like dis news. It be exciting, and da headline ain't da ting dat sells papes anyway. Newsies sell papes. An' it sounds excitin' to dem.'Round heah, folks ge' excited 'bout dis stuff, an' I'm sure dat in da Bronx it be da same ting." explained Blink. Maple didn't look like she understood.

"Maple, come on, we been ovah dis already. Youse know dat newsies sell papes, no' da headline. So stop bein' stupid." Checkers said, heaving a giant sigh. Maple nodded and kept quiet.

I could see Race and Crutchy were looking at each other and knew they were as ecstatic as Kid Blink. Mush was beaming at being the bearer of this news. I myself would've loved to sell a pape like that.

"Youse lucky. We never get dat sorta news." I said to them. "It's all da same everyday."

"Oh, dis is jus' a new one to us as well. We ain't get stories like dese much. Snitching stories ain't fun neither." Crutchy told me, looking at me seriously. Race and the others I knew didn't care about honesty, but Crutchy was one to be honest and not lie as much as he could. I myself would lie about headlines all of the time.

"Well, tank ya Mush, now move on." Blink said to Mush, who nodded and left basically leaping for joy.

"What war?" asked Maple.

"Youse know, the Spanish-American War dat was goin' on last year." Blink said. Maple nodded, realizing what he was talking about.

"So, what else is goin' on ovah dere in da Bronx?" asked Crutchy.

"Nothin' much. Just da usual. We ain't very big ovah dere." I replied. Blink looked over at Checkers.

"Hey, do ya wanta go outside an' sell for a bit wid me an' Race? Checkers an' Roller." Blink asked him.

"What, not me?" asked Maple.

"If ya wanna fin' us, we'll be where youse found me. Bu' jus' Checkers an' Roller ta start off." Blink informed her. She nodded.

"Alrigh'. Maple, youse know where ta fin' us. Come when ya can." Checkers said. Then, they got up and left.

Crutchy looked at me and smiled. I then realized how much I looked up to him, and he was 15 or 16, and he was my favorite other crip on the streets. Maple looked over at us.

"How ol' are you?" she asked Crutchy.

"15. Almost 16, but haven't hit dat yet." he said, and I realized that I had been close.

"You're tall."

"Well, I ain't short, dat's for shore, but I also ain't stupid. Don't be stupid youself eider. I ain't got da guts ta hurt youse at all." said Crutchy. I knew he was teasing her now.

Maple didn't say anything in reply. She proceeded to stare out the window. Crutchy turned to me.

"Do ya always work, or jus' in da mornin'?" he asked me.

"Well, usually I work always unless I'se gets sick or..." I trailed off, feeling that the last part was something all newsie crips had in common.

"Ah, yep da same ting happens to me. Dey beats youse up, and den youse can't move for a week. It always happens." he said, nodding.

"Yeah, I knows dat. But it ain't fair. We don't have da rights to say we can hurts dem back, bu' dey don't have da rights ta hurt us."

"Dat's da problem. I don't like it eider, but it doesn't do me no good if I give up or give in." replied Crutchy, smiling at me as if telling me that it was okay to be like who we are. Crutchy got up and looked at me. "Come on, let's go sell papes. I 'll split wid youse on my pile. I dunno about Maple heah."

"I don't mind. You sell your papes. I 'll tag along." she replied.

The two of us hobbled out of the restaurant with Maple following us. She didn't seem to mind that we were slow or anything, just watched the world go by as we moved with or against it. The two of us were probably some spectacle, two gimps with papes and going outside. I didn't talk to him much as we reached a point on the edge of the street corner where Crutchy handed me half of his pile and then I spread a few spaces away from him. We both started yelling. Maple stood behind us, and would collect the money, she said.

"Extra! Extra! Times Square buildin' catches fire! Police an' firemen try to get rid of it!" yelled Crutchy. He could speak better English than the rest of us, but I didn't ask him why. Maple had better English than any of us, but two weeks ago she had lived in a house with respectable people and then it had burned down.

"Extry! Extry! I cried out beside him. People turned up eventually. I sold about 2 papes while Crutchy had managed 6. But nobody here really knew me, so I hadn't expected to get much money. Maple held onto the money anyway.

After a few hours, Crutchy told me and Maple to stay where we were and he said he was going to find something. I didn't ask what he was getting. When he came back, I couldn't see if he'd gotten anything but then his hand that had been behind his back came out and in it was two rolls. I stared at him, and so did Maple.

"How did ya get dat?" I asked him.

"I jus' use myself for da people aren't like us. Dey take pity on da crips, well, some of dem." he smiled.

"But... ya shouldn't do dat, are ya allowed?" I said, eyeing him.

"I get extra money sometimes an' when dey bargain wid ya, ya gotta make dem pity ya. Noone cares. Blink don't. He jus' let ya do what youse wants ta survive." he answered. I took half of the roll he was holding out to me, and Maple took another half of the second one. Crutchy took half of the other one as well.

The street corner where we were sitting on was grey and dull, the stores behind us, brightly colored. Buggys passed and people passed. Crutchy and I were sitting on the curb, our crutches on the ground. Maple was standing up behind us. I saw kids looking at us, kids who had families and money. I guess we looked strange, but I didn't mention it. I had a feeling Crutchy didn't get bothered by it and was used to it, but I didn't know. The problem with bum legs is that they are not just bothersome, but look crooked and backwards too. It's really frustrating.

We spent the rest of the day selling papes. Maple left us at some point and went to find the others. At the end of the day, Crutchy and I hobbled back to the restaurant where Checkers, Race, Roller, and Kid Blink already were back at our table. Blink looked up at us when we got there.

"Youse two shore takes a while. Come on an' siddown." he said. Race moved to sit next to Roller, Maple, and Checkers and I slipped in before Crutchy.

"Musta been a sight, two of ya on da same street corner. What was dat like?"asked Checkers.

"Okay, if youse used ta it." replied Crutchy, flashing a smile at me. I nodded.

After eating, Checkers, Roller, Maple, and I made plans on if we were staying or not. Checkers could make it back in time as well as could Roller and Maple, but he said that I needed to stay in Manhattan, not go back to the Bronx. I didn't object, just looked at Crutchy, who looked happy. Checkers, Roller, and Maple headed back, and I felt unwanted and discarded like trash. But then Crutchy looked at me excitedly and I knew that I would be okay staying with the Manhattan group tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I may not have mentioned the first time, but this is my first fanfiction story/chapters I have ever written, and so I am really excited and slightly nervous about how this will turn out. TeamJacob1998: Thanks for the review, but I have a fair warning, things might start to get a little bit uglier in the next few chapters, but thank you for the support! That warning applies to everyone, by the way. So here's chapter two, which I am sorry about it being slightly shorter, but the next one is longer. Without further delay, here is chapter two!

Chapter Two

We all got up and Crutchy walked with me to the lodging house. Crutchy was tall and like a string bean, and I often felt short compared to him. He also had a decent amount of sense. But this didn't stop him from trying to get me to tell him about my life as we walked into his room and the owner got me a cot.

"Tell me more 'bout youself. I don't know dat many crips 'round heah." he said, looking at me.

"Well...okay, I'll start from da beginning." I agreed.

"When Is was 7 or 8, my mudder died, an' my fadder soon aftah of the same sickness or somethin'. I was all alone an' den da newsies found me an' I became part of dem. But at da age of 10, a relative took me away an' I was taken to work in a store. My leg was crippled when da store fell down 'cause it was old an' pieces of metal, wood, an' some oder stuff fell on my leg. Is fell down a staircase when I tried ta get away an' hurt it even more. It was bad. Worser and worser it got, till Is finl'ly knew dat Is was a cripple.

'But den I crawled all da way to da newsies' place in da Bronx, an' dey was shocked ta fin' me wid a crippled leg an' didn't nose what ta do. Checkers made dem take care of me. I be only alive 'cause of dere help. I be a German." I explained. Crutchy was silent for a moment after I finished.

"What 'bout youse?" I asked him, wondering if his story of his life was worse or better than mine.

"Well... I was born like dis." he said quietly. "Is was deformed an' my parents weren't all happy 'bout dat. My father hated it, me mudder loved me even though I was like dis.

'But den my mudder died when Is was 5, an' Is was lef' wid my father. Me mudder got sick like yours did. But me father remained. He... he beated me an' he hated me. I got sick a lot, an' he deprived me. He woulda wanted any oder kid, but not me. I was a cripple, and crips weren't allowed in me father's world. So he hurted me an' tried to kill me almost. But den he was stuck in da jail. Is don't tink he's still alive. Before he left, he told me dat he nevah wanted ta see me again an' den he got soft an' said dat he did love me. But I don't tink he evah did. I did, but I looked up ta him, an' I forgave him for wha' he had done because he was in charge of me an' I thought he was amazin'.

'Den I was left to meself. I somehows didn't die. I had already had a crutch for meself all of me life, an' sos, I left da house. Blink foun' me righ' outside da lodging house door. I was a sorry sight ta behold. I was 10. I am an Irishman, dat's my origins, I tink." he finished. His dark curly hair had led me to not really believe that he was Irish at all.

But I realized with that story, Crutchy had ended up with a much rougher life than I had. He was subdued after telling the story, and I didn't ask more but instead laid down in my bed and fell asleep. I guess he did the same thing eventually.

The morning brought Kloppman's voice shouting at us in all directions. I could hear boys everywhere getting up. I sat up and saw that Crutchy was already up and at it. He handed my crutch, and I got ready as well. Soon we were walking out the door into the larger room where it looked like the Manhattan newsies had the same loudness and messes in the morning as we did in the Bronx. Guys were everywhere. Crutchy got slapped on the back as we hobbled through by about 5 guys. Finally we came to the door and out into the open world.

The line at the dispatcher's office was long already, but as I stood watching, Crutchy made his way up and guys let him pass. Once he had gotten his papes, he split them with me again and then faced me.

"Alright, well, today we'll split up. I'll go ta Central Park, an' youse go to da corner we were on yesterday. Youse know how ta get dere. I'll come by later ta getcha." he said, and we split up. I went to the street corner and stood there, shouting "Exdra!" at the top of my lungs.

But even though it may seem that everybody took pity on me, there were plenty of people in New York that didn't like cripples. They, or some of them, think that we should be dead, not alive, and others just think that because we have leg problems, we have brain problems as well. I have no clue why, though. So when a family of obvious wealth walked by, I got covered in remarks. There were two girls and three boys to that family, and their mother was leading them. At the time, I was calling out the headline.

"Exdra! Exdra! Read all 'bout it! Times Square building isn't saved by da firemen an' da police!" I was yelling. The family stopped as if to observe. The mother spoke.

"Well, children, this is why we don't get the paper without your father around and why none of you can become newsboys, and the newsboys themselves can't speak right." she said, smirking at me. I glared back at her.

"And not to mention, they have gimps in their mix. I've heard those are the stupidest ones. They have to hobble around on a crutch and they get sympathy, the rats get sympathy." said the oldest of the two girls. I bit back a remark.

"Do you want to bet that he can't speak right? The gimp down at Cental Park couldn't, the stupid tall string bean." said one of the boys. I almost hit him with my crutch.

"Da youse wanna pape, ma'am, or da youse wanna jus' look at da freak who is 'bout ta hit one of ya children?" I asked coldly. The woman looked shocked for a moment, then snickered.

"Did we insult a friend of yours? And no, I do not need a paper."

"If youse know what's best for ya, I suggest dat ya don't insult Crutchy or meself or I can call on some of me friends dat know what ta do ta youse in seconds." I growled. The Bronx had the same kind of people.

"That gimp down there's named Crutchy? And what's your name? Limpy?" said the little boy.

"Jus' be glad dat youse got a family, alrigh'? Some of us ain't got one, an' wes don't like ta beat up da people who do. An' Crutchy ain't no gimp, neider am I. Youse jus' be glad at what's youse gots dat many don'ts, 'kay? Someday youse'll tank me for dis little lecture." I said. The children looked shocked and turned toward their mother.

"It is not a right of yours to tell other people what they do and don't take for granted." she said.

"Youse don't got da rights ta torture innocent boys who don't got nothin' but da clothes on his back an' whatever little money in his pocket." I said in reply.

"Mother, my leg hurts, can we go home? I think I have a big bruise from that kick." complained the little boy. I had a bad feeling about this.

"What did youse do ta Crutchy? Tell me!" I demanded.

"My girl kicked him, rightfully so. But he hit my son with his, his crutch!" said the woman, almost hysterically.

I gave up on the family right then and there and screamed the headlines once more. The mother looked away and with her head held high, the family marched away. That wasn't the first problem I had. A man and his son came up to me at one point.

"See, here son, this is a newsboy. Do you know that this is why I never allowed you to become one?" he said. The boy nodded.

"Da youse wanna pape, sir, or am I gonna hafta hurt ya slightly ta make youse move?" I said, sighing. "Some people wan' dere papes."

"Well, let's go then, Rob, come along." the man said. Before Rob left though, he turned back to me.

"Ha! You gimp! My father says that you're the reason why society's going down!" he laughed, sticking his tongue out at me. I didn't reply.

I knew that I was being sensitive, and Crutchy would have understood, but that boy's remark hurt me deeply. I almost wanted to sit down and cry. But I had a job to do.

At about 1:00 P.M., I found myself bored, hurt mentally, and tired. People had stopped much more to criticize me than to actually buy papers. Trouble, though, was only just about to strike. I knew that I had to watch myself. The only thing I could do was tell myself that Crutchy would come and get me soon. But eventually, I decided that I would go to Crutchy instead of him coming to me. He had told me where it was and what street it was on, so I went there.

I was close when I heard shouting. A rough voice followed by screams. The voice was yelling very loudly.

"You gimp! What are you doing around heah? I told you to stay away from me last time! We'll take care of ya!" it was yelling from behind a group of trees in Central Park.

It sounded like a boy's voice, no older than my self. I hobbled as fast as possible to the corner. Crutchy was nowhere to be found. He had been attacked.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Author's Note: Here I am again! I have been extremely busy, so I apologize for not getting this done, I am doing a week-long dance camp, during the day, 9:30 to 3:00, so I haven't been able to type. To those of you who reviewed the past two chapters, thanks for the support and here is the next part of the story, which I know you are waiting for, I understand. But anyway, this is Chapter Three, where things get... to sum it up, ugly. There's a good bit of violence, pain, and some scenes in which I read over and over again to feel the sadness and edit, of course. But don't worry, the characters will make it, no matter how badly I hurt them. So on with Chapter Three!

I hobbled into Central Park and clambered through the trees to a small, secluded, space. Crutchy was there; was there and being beaten, punched, by a tall boy with blond hair. The boy stopped when he saw me.

"Aye! What's this, another gimp? Get him!" he yelled. Two boys who could have been only 8 or 9 years old, (small and young for a gang) hurried over and tried to grab me.

I hit one with my stick. Crutchy was watching me in horror. This was yet another battle that I could not win. The other boy grabbed my bum leg. I screamed in pain and made to hit him but it didn't work. He grabbed my hands and a boy of about 15 dragged me towards the blond kid.

"So, what da we got heah?" he asked. A black haired kid moved out of the shadows. It was Parker.

"Dat's Micky!" he said. I glared at him.

"Ah, another gimp who we know. Parks, you know dis kid? Because the only one I know or recognize is Crutchy heah, an' he's a regular." said the blond.

"Yeah, I nose him. He's from da Bronx, Rock, da Bronx." Parker replied.

"Then you do the honors. Beat him." Rock said, but Parker shook his head. "Alright, I'll deal wid Crutchy, Craft over there will beat dis one."

But I was not going to be hurt without resistance. Craft was a 14 year old who looked tough, but I wasn't going to be his next victim. I knew Crutchy, though, was far too beaten to do anything. Rock started to hit him again, this time with his own crutch, and Crutchy curled up only to be hit in the ribs. I felt angry as I watched him being hurt. He cried out, and Rock sniggered.

That was enough of me just lying there. I swung out my good leg and kicked Rock, but Rock just looked at Craft who kicked me. I kicked him back. He picked up my crutch, but I tripped him with my good foot when he moved to get near me. Then I sat up and crawled forward, and began to punch him. The other guys in the gang stayed back. Rock had stopped hitting Crutcy for a moment. I grabbed my crutch from Craft and whacked Craft in the head with it, then I stood up. Rock started beating Crutchy again, who was bleeding from his forehead and his good leg, and would have horrible bruises. I stepped in and tripped Rock. Grabbing Crutchy with my free hand, I dragged him out of the trees. He wasn't conscious anymore, and I would have to get his crutch back, but not now. Now I called for help from some fellow newsies.

Noone came. People stopped then moved on. I called, making my voice nearly hoarse. I got more and more worried. Finally, Kid Blink, Race, and a bunch of others appeared. Blink rushed over and rolled Crutchy over onto his back.

"Wha' happened?" he asked me.

"Gang... a gang's been heah, dey are in da trees still." I said. Blink stood up, looking horribly angry.

I wouldn't have wanted to be in that gang now. Crutchy groaned. My leg was hurting badly, and I figured Crutchy was hurting all over.

Blink took all of the newsies, except Race, with him. There were sudden shouts from the trees and cries of pain, and I knew there was a fight going on. I tried not to cry out at the pain coming from my left leg and watched as Racetrack tried to stop Crutchy's forehead and leg from bleeding. I didn't know if it was working at all or not. I sat down at some point, not knowing the time anymore.

When the group finally came out, Blink was dragging Parker with him, and the entire gang was surrounded by newsies.

"He's from da Bronx. Micky, da youse know who dis is?" Blink asked.

"It's Parker." I replied. Blink squatted down near me.

"What did dey do ta ya?"

"Da leader beat up Crutchy. Dere was anudder kid who hurted me, or tried ta. I beated him up, but da reason my leg hurts is 'cause one little kid grabbed it, an' I got hit dere." I explained to Blink.

"Why did ya do dis?" Blink asked Rock.

"That gimp right there hit me when I was trying to get a paper." replied Rock.

"Dat ain't true. Crutchy would nevah hurt anyone on purpose jus' outta nowhere even if dey taunted him." I said, ignoring the fact that I had heard that Crutchy had hit a boy with his crutch, but that wasn't the same. From the corner of my eye, I saw Race nod.

"Fine. We were teasing him, and I decided that we should do somethin', so we did. I grabbed him and dragged him off the street, and before I did, he musta known what was coming because he hit me and I got a bruise. That forced me ta do worse." said Rock. Kid Blink stood up.

"Don't youse evah tink what it would be like ta have a bum leg an' ta hafta walk 'round hearin' people whisper 'bout ya? Maybe ya don't. Well, start righ' now." Blink growled. Suddenly two newsies ran up and grabbed Blink's arms to hold him back.

"No, Blink, fightin' don't solve nothin'." said one, which happened to be Mush.

I heard Blink sigh. Crutchy cried out suddenly and I'm pretty sure we all looked at him. He was still unconscious, and I could see worry, anger, and hurt in Kid Blink's eyes as he looked at Crutchy on the ground. Rock stepped forward.

"We don't follow rules by you. Fight me, come on, fight me." he said evilly. Blink shook his head. "What? Didya lose that eye because of a fight? Because if you ain't gonna fight, you are a sissy."

Every newsie gasped in horror, some gaping and others whispering. Blink looked murderous. Mush and the other newsie let go of him and he rolled up his sleeves, stepping forward.

"Whatevah you say, youse-nevah-call-me-a-sissy." he said, and Rock looked slightly disturbed. "Dis eye is blind, an' still dere, an' if ya don't wanna sleep tonight, I'll show it ta youse."

Rock drew himself up. Then the two fo them prepared to fight, and Blink punched Rock in the face. They punched, and kicked, missed and dodged, and the whole time noone talked. Blink was winning, but then suddenly, before he about to hit Rock in the jaw, noise broke out. Checkers, Roller, Maple, Jam, and a few other Bronx newsies came bounding out of nowhere. Blink and Rock stopped. Checkers stared.

"What's been goin' on heah?" he said, then spotted me. "Micky... what? Tell me."

I tried to speak but my leg was giving me a horrible time. Checkers came over, and then faced Blink and Rock. He had seen Crutchy and I knew he was thinking this over.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It be a long story, Checkers, I ain't tinking dat we should get inta dat now." replied Blink, nervously almost.

"Youse been fightin' Blink, an' I ain't gonna listen ta none of dis nonsense about how youse can' talk 'bout it now." said Checkers, firmly.

"Look, it's really long. Tell youse what, let's go back to da house, all of us 'cept a few of my newsies an' dat way people won't be missin' dere papes. Rock, Parker, dere guys, an' youse guys, had betta come along." Blink said. Race stepped up.

"Da youse 'spect us ta carry 'im?" he asked, motioning towards Crutchy.

"You dere, Mush, help Race, 'kay? But if ya evah tell 'im dat you carried 'im, he'll kill ya." replied Blink, nodding. Mush nodded back and went over.

Checkers turned towards me and I put my arm around his shoulder. Then he grabbed my crutch and we stood waiting. Mush and Race had Crutchy on Mush's back and Race was carrying the crutch that they had rescued from the trees.

Checkers and I set off, my bum leg not touching the ground, my good right leg my support mostly. He talked to me softly.

"I knew dat youse weren't at da lodging house, but den ta find youse heah, injured an'..." he said.

"Yeah, Is know. But don't youse get worried. I can fend for meself."

"No, ya can't do it dat well."

"Crutchy can. So can I. I saved 'im today."

"Jus' don't let dis get ta youse head, alright?"

"Yeah, shore." I replied. We kept walking, getting rather strange looks as we passed. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I could only hope that things went well.

Once we reached the lodging house, Kloppman let us in and didn't question the gang or the other Bronx newsies. We moved into the bedroom. Boys sat everywhere, on the sides of the walls next to the bunks. (Maple included in the group.) When we walked in, I was told to sit on a bunk next to where Crutchy was; on a bunk as well. Checkers, Rock, and Kid Blink were in the middle of the room on chairs. The talking started and I watched Crutchy for a moment before listening.

"We'se are gonna discuss wid all of youse 'bout what went one, an' it ain't pretty, Is can tell you dat, from the looks of dis group an' ours." said Blink.

Blink looked at me, and so I told everyone who wasn't there about what had happened to Crutchy and myself. They all listened intently. When I finished, which had been a bit of a while because I had to do it in between gasps of pain and dizziness from my leg, they were silent. Rock looked at Blink, who was glaring abt him. I could feel the tension.

"So dat's what ya do ta da less fortunate an' weaker ones, eh?" said Checkers. Rock bristled up.

"I only doin' what's needed ta be done. My father says that gimps are the cause of society problems and falling." Rock said. I couldn't believe that this was the second time I had heard this statement today.

"Dat ain't true!" I yelled at him. "Its dat type, your fadder's type dat are ruining society."

Rock looked astounded, but I could tell everyone was watching him to see his reaction. Most everyone but the gang agreed with me, and I could tell that some in the gang had as well. But Rock was bright red in his face now, trying to come up with a comeback. And so he did.

"Well, you ain't got a father so you don't gotta worry 'bout it!" he said. That was the trigger, the key. All of the newsies started yelling at him.

Kid Blink tried to calm everyone down, but the yelling was too intense. All of the guys and Maple even, were throwing papers at the leader, demanding to have a go at the gang. Rock was yelling insults and against the crowd of newsies. Finally Blink bellowed at us.

"Stop it! Be quiet! Arguin' ain't gonna help dis situation, an' it shore ain't gonna help Crutchy!" he yelled. The room was silent. Even Rock was watching Blink with interest. "Good. Now, as Micky said, dat ain't true. What is true is dat youse need ta get outta heah once dis is over, unless ya turn good hearted." Blink continued.

"Look, beatin' up gimps ain' always worth it. But that one was. The gimp tried to hurt me, and that means consequences. But ya gotta look at it from one side or the other. He was a brat to me, and that is what I give him." said Rock. Blink stood up, looking angry again.

"Crutchy ain't no brat ta nobody! He's da nicest person out dere for miles. Youse ain't. Don't talk no more rubbish 'bout Crutchy or I'll hurt ya for real." threatened Blink. Rock looked slightly scared.

I heard a moan from next to me. I looked at Crutchy, and realized that he was coming round. I moved over to his side of my bunk. I was scared of what he would do if he found that there were a ton of people around him. But, in the next minute, it seemed as though Rock hadn't taken Blink seriously.

"Oh yeah? Well, that gimp don't got nothing to complain 'bout, seeing as he's da one who started it all. I never meant to hurt him." Rock said.

"Youse call 'im a "gimp" one more time, an' I'll make youse one." growled Blink. Beside me, I saw Crutchy move his head.

"That's the problem, we give da gimps sympathy and then they don't make it." Rock spat out. Blink was standing in front of Rock now.

He punched Rock before others could react. Checkers stood up and yelled at him, when the fight had begun to get real.

"Stop it! When dat's enough, dat's enough!" he yelled.

That was also enough of Crutchy being unconscious anymore. He lifted his head, saw me, then put it back on the pillow again, listening to the leaders yell.

"Bu' he called Crutchy a "gimp", an' I ain't gonna pretend he didn't. Youse heard him, Checkers, an' dere's no denying it. Let me go at him." Blink struggled against Checkers, who was holding him back.

"What if da apparent "gimp" got somethin' ta say 'bout it?" said Crutchy, loudly, but I could hear pain in his voice. He had been about to speak, and when he did, everyone looked at him.

"Crutchy?" Blink said.

"Well... who else? It shore ain't Micky ovah heah." he said, smiling through pain at me.

Blink came over followed by eyes. Crutchy looked up at him.

"I didn't mean ta figh' over dis." said Blink.

"Dat's okay. But dey shore... did somethin' terrible." he paused in the sentence. Blink looked at Rock and glared at him again. Crutchy looked bad, I couldn't deny it. He seemed to be holding back a cough or two.

"Look wha' youse done, an' tell me it ain't painful, Rock. Youse got no respec' for noone." said Blink. Rock sighed deeply.

"Okay, fine, youse got me. But dat don' mean I'll be any nicer ta youse or any gimp dat I see." Rock gave in. Blink stood up, and then there was a short silence.

Everyone watched Rock and Blink. Rock was looking smug with himself, Blink looked angry and worried.

"Jus'... don't youse come back heah."

"Alrigh'. I won't unless you call me heah. Other than that, I'm not gonna hurt noone else in your group, but others I can't make promises." Rock said, making to leave, his gang following him.

"Jus' do dat, an' we'll get ya if we want ya." Kid Blink said with a final note of authority, and Rock nodded and the group left.

Author's Note: So there you go. Chapter Four is on its way, and I am going to work on typing and writing another newsies story soon. Tell me how I am doing with this, and if you have any suggestions, as I say in my profile, I am welcome to any that I think would work. The reason is because in this story I am totally remaking Chapter 7 and up because I realized that some characters would not work in this story. So if, or when I get to chapter 7, and you have any suggestions, tell me and I will take them. Thank you, and please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Author's Note: So, here is Chapter Four. I am almost, (sadly, for me at least) done my dance camp, but then, to just hold you all on a cliffhanger, (sort of, not really), I have a week and a half that I am spending up in New York's countryside with my grandparents, so I won't get back on here for a really long time. But in the meantime, I'll just continue to post things until about Sunday because that's when I'm leaving. But anyway, to the chapter!

The newsies from the Bronx and the few from Manhattan all looked at Blink and Checkers expectantly. The two leaders were silent for a moment, but then Blink spoke.

"Well, now dat dey's gone, let's get bandages from Kloppman." he said.

All of the (few) Manhattan newsies got up and went off to find Kloppman. We remained. Kid Blink was looking back at Crutchy, who at the moment was staring off into space. His leg and forehead were only bleeding a little bit, but I knew the scrapes would need bandages because of the possibility of infection. I was worried that he wouldn't last.

"How da youse feel, Crutch?" asked Blink softly. The other Bronx kids were huddled with Checkers.

"Oh, da...usual aftah dat... dat thing happens." Crutchy struggled as he replied.

"Dat ain't good, youse nose it. Don't give up now. Youse been thrugh worse." Blink tried to say without sounding depressed.

The newsies came back with bandages and Kloppman, who looked furious. He was holding the bandages and hurried over looking as angry and worried, almost, as Blink looked.

"They gotta learn not ta do this to ya. You'll never know or want to go nowhere if you are stuck being beaten all the time." said Kloppman as he bandaged Crutchy's leg and put some on his forehead.

"We tried, but dey are always attackin' da crippled, weak, less fortunate ones, Kloppman." said Kid.

"Yeah, I know all 'bout it. They hurt you to, eh?" he asked, looking at me. I was in pain, but from something that could not be fixed.

"Not in a way dat can be fixed." I said. Kloppman shook his head.

Crutchy was somehow still conscious, but I didn't know if he'd remain like that. He looked horrible, his shirt was tattered and I knew there would be bruises on his stomach and ribs, and his good leg and forehead were bandaged up. The coughs that I had been sure he was holding back, or in, finally came out. He coughed up blood. A little bi, but enough to make Blink, Kloppman, and the other Manhattan newsies extremely more worried. Blink gripped Crutchy's wrist for a moment, and Kloppman looked more stressed. I found myself scared. Crutchy was silent, ignoring any looks, staring at the roof of his bunk. Blink looked at Kloppman.

"Don't youse tink we'se should get a doc?' he asked, his eye moving around Kloppman's face quickly, looking at him.

"I think that the doctor ain't gonna want ta come, but I'll get someone to go get him." replied Kloppman, and left the room, grabbing Racetrack as he went. Race would obviously be sending the message.

"Hang in dere, we'se gonna get a doc, I nose it." said Blink quietly to Crutchy, (I was close enough to hear him) and Crutchy nodded.

But none of us were sure if the doctor would come. We had barely enough money for food, let alone a doctor. Checkers and the other Bronx kids came over, and they stood in front of my bed along with Blink.

"Guys, and gal, we'se don't gots nuttin' ta lose wid a doctor comin', but den again, I don't tink it'll work. I be worried for Crutchy." Blink said.

"Youse know dat we'se know, so don't get us wrong, mate, I don't know wha' ta do." replied Checkers.

"We are all worrin' for Crutchy, jus' don't get youself mixed up." I said.

"Tell me youse will... stay in touch wid me, if youse leave ta go ta da Bronx again." said Blink, anxiously.

"We'se will. Trust me. I nose youse, an' you ain't one ta be left alone." answered Checkers.

"Tank youse. I owe all of youse a lot." Kid Blink said gratefully.

"Who say we'se leavin'? I ain't goin' nowhere, Checkers." I said, pulling him closer. "Ise can't."

"Not youse. Jus' me an' da guys, an' Maple. Youse too hurt, ya need ta rest an' stay in one place." replied Checkers. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The Bronx group soon left, and Checkers gave me one last look before heading out the door. Not too long after, Race returned. He was followed by a man who looked like a business man, and a man who was obviously a doctor in a white coat. But he looked like an expert, and expensive. Racetrack came forward.

"I found what youse wante', an' more. Dis is Mr. Brown, an' he's payin' for da doctor. Dis is Dr. Jacob, an; to youse two, dere's your patient." Race said. The doctor took the spot where Kloppman had been sitting earlier. We were all staring at Mr. Brown. Blink looked supisciuos.

"Who are youse?" he asked the man.

"A friend of Kloppman here. And when the money is needed by him, I can supply you with it." Mr. Brown said. Blink looked at Kloppman who nodded.

The doctor was checking Crutchy up, who was still conscious, and who didn't watch the doctor as he seemed okay with the fact that the man was looking him up and down. Or maybe he was in to much pain. The doctor looked worried.

"I dare say that these are some very bad bruises, or will be. This isn't the best thing ever, not good at all." he said. Blink was still eyeing Mr. Brown, but turned his attention to the doctor.

"He'll be fine, righ' Mr.?" he said, anxiously, too hopefully.

"Well... he should." the doctor said uncertainly. Kid Blink looked sadder than ever at this.

The doctor kept on going. Whenever something distressing showed up, he'd tell us. His last look at Crutchy was his bad leg.

"You're a cripple?" asked the doctor. Crutchy nodded, and I saw pain in his eyes as the doctor pressed and touched his leg rather hard. "Born like this?"

"Yes." was all Crutchy said. Blink's eye widened, and the Manhattan newsies's eyes and sharp intakes of breath told me that Crutchy hadn't told any of them that.

"You'll never walk straight, but no wonder you look like this. They beat you up, didn't they?" Doctor Jacob said, and Crutchy nodded again. "Well, just don't twist this leg anymore than it is, and you'll be fine. But I don't know about the rest of you. How about you?"

I realized the last question was targeted at me. I looked at the doctor, and then at the ground, and then back at the doctor again.

"Dey hurt me, bu' in me bad leg. It ain't sometin' youse can fix." I said, looking at the doctor.

"Let me see." he said.

Then he came over, and started pressing my leg, which made me cry out in pain. He looked at it in several places, several different times.

"I am guessing that this leg of yours was broken and then stayed that way because of another break in the bone fixture." the doctor said.

"Yeah, dis store fell in on me, den I fell down a staircase tryin' ta get away. Da store was in da top story of a buildin',an' I was climbing down da fire escape." I explained.

"This can be fixed, I think. But if you don't want any surgery, that is okay with me." the doctor said. "I will come back if any of you need me."

And with that last sentence, the doctor headed out, Kloppman and Mr. Brown following. Kid Blink sat down abruptly, and Crutchy didn't look at him. I could tell that Blink might even have been slightly angry. But he didn't do anything. Crutchy fell asleep eventually, and soon Blink followed suit. Others were asleep or getting ready for bed.

That night I stayed there. And in the morning, I awoke to see Crutchy before I would work. He wasn't awake, but he looked terrible. I gave him one last look before I hobbled out. I would sell as many papers as I could. I bought 100 because the headline was wonderful, the fire on Times Square had not been stopped in time, and some famous, rich, old guy had died. I took up Crutchy's selling spot, and I thought I had pretty good luck going for me, but then my good luck died or something. It was in the afternoon, and I was yelling out headlines loudly. Suddenly, some of the kids from that family that had taunted me passed by. It was most of them, but one boy and their mother weren't there. My stomach dropped, and I felt a sick feeling, and felt danger.

Author's Note: Okay, so, sorry about the names like "Mr. Brown" and "Doctor Jacob", but I really couldn't think of any other names, or last names, at the time I wrote this, and they aren't the most interesting and important characters, so I'm figuring you can forgive me for that. Tell me how I am doing on this story, a.k.a., REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, PLEASE!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Author's Note: So here I am, yet again. And so I say that, yet again. Chapter Five. Oh boy, this is gonna get interesting, so buckle your seatbelt, and hold onto your chair, because this is brutal. Brutal with a capitol "B". I just finished my dance camp, so I am all ... the computers, and yours to type. So here is a brutal, and bloody, literally, there are mentions of blood, and sweeping chapter for this story. (I just like beating up characters, and *hint* like bringing them back, but there is always sadness in between, so, sue me, I just like to do that. I have in my few books that I've written.) Onto the chapter!

"Hey, look, it's that gimp we saw at the street corner!" said the little boy as they passed. They all turned and came up to me.

"Well, well. We never thought we'd see you again." said the oldest girl.

"Neider did I, an' I didn't wanna. But what's youse name anyways?" I asked them, curious.

"I'm Isabella. This is Lisa, Tom, Jerry, and Mark stayed home." said the oldest girl.

"Well, I be Micky. Youse ain't got yours mudder wid ya?" I asked them. I knew I had them interested slightly now.

"No, she didn't come today. But we did so as to get back at that gimp for hitting Jerry." said Tom. I looked at him.

"Da ya wanna know where he is? 'Cause I can tell all youse." I said, angry. "He's beaten up, an' lyin' in a bed, so beaten up he can hardly talk. An' all 'cause of youse kinda folks."

They looked taken aback, but the oldest boy sniggered.

"We can deal with you then." he said. I looked at them, slightly, well, all together terrified.

"Nah, youse can't, don't..." I trailed off as Tom grabbed my crutch and hit my good leg with it, causing me to fall. Then he dragged me into Central Park past the trees to a lake.

"Can you swim?" he asked. The others had followed.

"Stop, nos, youse can't do dis, stop. Da ya wanna have a drowned man on youse conscience when ya grow up?" I asked.

"Alright, we'll just beat you up." he said. Isabella nodded.

And before I knew it, I was punching Tom, and he was punching me. We were in a full out fight; but on the ground. I screamed when he hit my bad leg, and I saw spots. They took the chance and dragged me toward the water. I was yelling and screaming the whole way, and then, I was in the water.

Using my only leg that worked and my arms, I tried to get out or at least swim. They laughed. I finally grasped the shore and dragged myself out. But Tom was waiting with my crutch. I felt the blows of it on my ribs and stomach. Then I suddenly grabbed his foot, and down he went. Tom cried out, but I saw no reason why he should be in pain, because all I felt was pain. I thought about Crutchy, and held back tears as I thought about how I wanted him to be okay, and for myself to be okay, and for none of this to have happened to either of us. I had meant to sell some papes for him. But now, Crutchy wouldn't have food.

Tom stood up. The others kids watched him intently. A group had begun to form. All were boys, weak and strong, young and old; all watching with interest. Tom laughed again.

"You can never beat me. These guys, I knew them. They will help me." Tom said. I said nothing. "You there, Frank, help me."

A boy, a young one, moved forward, and he grabbed my leg, my bad one, and I screamed. And I kicked the boy in the shins.

Frank backed away. Tom snarled. He came up, and kicked my stomach. I coughed, and out came, to my horror, blood. I looked up at all of them.

"Do ya like ta torture... people? Do dey soun' good ta ya, or is it jus' nature?" I asked them. Lisa stepped up next to Tom.

"Stop this, Tom. Stop. He's in pain, do you wanna see him dead?" she asked him, quietly. She was very young, and I could see fear in her eyes.

"No way, Lisa. Why should I?"

"Because he's innocent. It's not him who hurt Jerry." when she said this, I had a horrible gut-wrenching feeling.

"Nah, don't youse, don't goes aftah Crutchy. No way will Is let youse hurt him. Hurt me instead. Please, no, don't... don't do dis." I begged, horrified. Tom turned to me.

"Take us to the place where you stay. Get up, you gimp. Now!" yelled Tom. I grabbed my crutch, but could hardly stand. I hobbled even more.

I felt the eyes of the whole crowd who hadn't known I was a cripple. I felt Tom walking behind me. I couldn't do this.

"Nah, I won't." I said, turning to face him.

"Yes, you will. Now. Or I will find him." Tom said. The crowd followed us. There where only about 10 extra guys, but that was a lot compared to me and Crutchy alone.

I walked to the lodging house. I knew Kloppman wasn't in there, he had errands. Noone else had stayed. I walked in, followed by the group. Crutchy was in the bunk. I collapsed, but Tom grabbed me and made me walk over. Crutchy was awake. Tom stopped and looked at him, shocked to find him so beaten up. But he regained himself all of a sudden.

"Micky? Why are youse all...oh. Youse." said Crutchy, and his eyes widened.

"We have a score to settle." Tom said. He hit Crutchy's bum leg, and Crutchy cried out.

"No. Youse can't hurts him no more, you'll kill him, stop, stop!" I said, and moved my body in front of Crutchy's, who now Tom couldn't get at.

"Get out of the way!" snarled Tom, but he didn't try to move me. I sat down on the edge of the bed.

Tom glared at me and moved in. I tripped him with my crutch, and he managed to make his body fall backwards, and several people caught him. I could hear Crutchy behind me, breathing heavily, and frightened, obviously. He looked at me.

"Let me deal wid dem. Don't get youself killed." he said.

"Nah, youse da one who can't get youself killed, Crutchy, don't. Kid will be back." I whispered back.

Tom moved in again. I didn't know what to do, he was coming fast. He moved me, pushed me, out of the way, throwing me into a chair. He came in on Crutchy, ready to strike. Then, he grabbed Crutchy's arms and pulled him out of the bed and out the door.

"No!" I yelled, and hobbled out as fast as I could, which was painful and not very fast. Tom had put Crutchy in an alley and was ready to start beating him.

I tried to get to them, but Tom hit Crutchy in the back and I could hear him yelling.

"You don't hurt my little brother, got that?" Tom yelled.

"Is... youse hit me. Stop!" cried Crutchy. I came up to them. "No, she hit me!"

With that statement from Crutchy, we all looked at Isabella, who shrank. I raised my crutch and was about to bring it down on Tom's head when I heard a shout. It was Kid Blink! I was very much relieved.

"Where's Crutchy?! Why are dere footprints? Get back heah, whoevah youse are!" he shouted from inside the lodging house.

"BLINK! OUT HEAH!" I yelled as loud as I could.

The guys all looked scared. Crutchy was happy at this and relieved, as relieved as I was, and probably more.

Blink cam running all of a sudden. With his eyepatch, I think he made everyone scared. Tom looked intimidated. Blink ran up. He was a reasonably tall boy with sandy blond hair, and his skin was quite tan, and he was strong looking. And when Kid Blink is angry, he is angry. He came storming through the crowd and Tom looked even more scared.

"What youse doin' heah? Whys everybody heah?" Blink growled, and suddenly punched Tom in the face.

Tom backed off. Blink dropped down to Crutchy, and suddenly was extermely worried looking. One of the guys started to try to back out, but Blink looked at the boy.

"Jus' cause one of me eyes blind don't mean I can't see nothin'. Stay where youse are." he said. The boy obeyed.

"Blink..." said Crutchy.

"Don't youse worry, youse ain't goin' nowhere." Blink said softly.

Tom came back into fighting mode and was about to hit Blink on the head when I intercepted, and hit him in the back. Tom backed off. I fell, unable to stand anymore.

Blink was trying to get Crutchy to let him pick him up, but Crutchy wouldn't allow it. Tom was watching. I could tell that he was slightly moved. Crutchy wasn't going to be picked up and carried when he was conscious. But he finally agreed to be at least helped out with his arm around Blink's shoulder. I had always known that Crutchy was tougher and braver than myself.

But Tom wasn't done yet. With two of his friends, they forced Blink to fight them. I wanted to help. Blink was throwing punches everywhere, and kicking. One boy went flying backwards with a bloody nose. Kid Blink was shouting and I saw that his nose was bleeding as well. This went on for a while. It was two against one. I didn't think Blink would last long. But I underestimated him.

Soon Tom backed out, or more or less, fell out, and lay on the ground. Isabella ran forward. The guy Blink was fighting was bigger and much stronger looking than Kid Blink himself. But as I said, Blink was angry. And that meant it would take a lot to beat him up. Even though his depth perception was horrible, Blink just punched anywhere, and he hit his target a lot. Of course, his nose was bleeding, so I didn't know how long he'd last.

"Get youse hand off of me!" he yelled. The boy was fighting back brutally.

Crutchy looked frightened for Blink. I found myself not wanting to watch. Blink was fighting with all he had. I didn't know if he was strong enough, but Blink was pretty strong anyway. Crutchy looked at me, and I could see that he was in a lot of pain but trying not to admit it.

Suddenly, to Crutchy's and my dismay, Blink fell on the ground. The other boy sniggered, but Blink kicked him very hard in the knees, and the boy fell down. Blink stood up, and glared at the others with his one eye. Most looked frightened. Tom had regained himself but was bleeding from his forehead slightly. And yet, he looked sad.

"Youse gotta feel guilty, or I be a chicken." Blink said to Tom.

"Yeah. You can fight." Tom replied.

"Well, 'course Is can. I had ta grow up on da streets. Dere are always people wantin' ta hurt ya. Dat's why cripples ain't got a good time." Kid Blink retorted. Tom looked slightly less proud and tall, but glared at Blink.

"When my mother finds out, you are going to be in trouble." said Tom.

"Go home ta her. Tell 'er. Let dem come. Is will fight 'em." answered Blink, spitting on the ground near Tom. "Till den, Is gonna take care of dese two."

"No you aren't."

Author's Note: So, there you are. Review, please. This is just me, but I think that the cliffhanger ending is very suspenseful. Now, I know that you know that I know what happens next, but still, I love the ending of this chapter. Review, Review, Review, please. Please REVIEW.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Author's Note: Two chapters in one day for the same story! Woo hoo! Yeah! So, here is, well, um... I guess I should find another way to say this. And now for ...Chapter Six! Alright, enough of that. Onto the chapter!

"Whadda ya mean?" said Blink, eyeing Tom.

"First I'm gonna beat you up. Then I'm gonna hurt him more." growled Tom. I looked desperately at Blink, who looked defiant.

The two of them started fighting. Not long after, Tom hit Kid Blink in the stomach and the bad eye, and Blink screamed and fell backwards. He couldn't get up because two boys grabbed him and held him there. Blink watched, horrified.

Tom picked up Crutchy's crutch and started beating him with it on the back. Crutchy screamed. Blink tried to yell but one boy put his hand on Blink's mouth. I was ready to cry. Crutchy was in a ball, and Tom moved from his back to his ribs. Now Blink was in tears, his eye crying, which was strange looking, but I couldn't care less. Crutchy cried out and I heard something that almost sounded like sobs. He tried to punch Tom, but to no avail. I couldn't get my body off the ground, so I was no help at all. Tome was yelling at him.

"This will teach you! Don't mess with us!" he yelled.

When Crutchy straightened out, Tom hit him in the legs, and Blink finally was able to yell.

"Stop it! Stop, jus', jus' stop!" he yelled through tears. Tom did, and Crutchy let go of all tension, and laid there, gasping and terribly close to crying.

Tom looked at Blink's face, half of it tear streaked, and looked astonished to find Blink crying. Blink looked at him and stood up. I looked up at them.

"Youse ain't doin' no good. Look at whatcha done. Youse are gonna kill 'im." Blink said, and stumbled over to Crutchy.

"Sure. The police will be after you soon, you just watch." Tom replied.

"Go on, tell youse mommy, youse probably beggin' fer her now." said Kid Blink. Tom looked angered.

Crutchy cried out and Blink looked at him. Tom looked at Crutchy as well, and I saw almost pain in his eyes, a sadness that I wanted to believe would make him change his mind. But he turned back on Blink.

"Alright, stop it or I'll beat you up." he said. Then somebody spoke.

"Dear me, who said anythin' 'bout Blink bein' beaten up? Eh? I's heah ya. Back off, move!" said a voice.

The voice's owner appeared in a second. Racetrack popped out of the group of guys who were either close to his height or taller than him. He had a cigar in his mouth, and he looked extremely angry. When he saw Crutchy on the ground, he looked really, really mad, and I wouldn't have wanted to speak at that moment. Tom snorted.

"Who's this shorty?" he said. Race faced him and punched him in the face. Tom wasn't chuckling anymore.

"I ain't no shorty, jus' undersized for a 16 year old. Now get away from dem or I'll hurt youse bad." he said.

"But there's only one of you." said Tom.

A noise from behind Race proved Tom wrong more than ever. Out stepped Spot Conlon and his gang of Brooklyn newsies. I looked at him in awe. Nobody messes with Spot.

"Whatcha doin' on da ground, Blink? What happened, Crutchy? An' Micky? What's been goin' on heah?" he asked. Tom shrank.

Spot Conlon was known as the Brooklyn king, and although he wasn't very tall or thick, he was mean. I knew he really didn't like cripples all of the time, and that he had a strange love/hate relationship with Crutchy more or less, but I couldn't blame him for being angry. Tom looked purely terrified now. Isabella and Lisa had backed up against the wall as far as they could.

"Spot, dese people 'ave hurt us. Tom's dere leader." said Blink. Tom shook his head.

"No, see, it was a misunderstanding..." Tom trailed off.

"Eh, really? Youse ain't got da guts of a duck. How'se youse be gettin' a group like dis? Dey mus' be bastids." Spot shook his head.

"Fight me, fight me, come on!" said Tom, his mind obviously recovering. Spot grinned wickedly, and the next thing we knew, a full out fight had begun.

The Brooklyn newsies were shooting numerous marbles from their sling-shots, and punching and kicking. Spot was beating up Tom fast, and soon Tom had surrendered. I knew he had been an idiot to fight Spot Conlon, and now he had felt the full blows of the Brooklyn King, so I guess he was done.

"Now, go home ta youse mudder, an' tell her all ya wan'. Go!" yelled Spot, and the whole group was out of there in seconds.

Spot turned to us.

"Race was jus' visitin'. Den we decided ta get youse but ya weren't at ya sellin' spot, an' so we came heah. Good ting, too." Spot said. "Is gotta go. Jus' came ta tell youse dat we got new newsies at my place and need one ta come heah. See ya later."

And with that, Brooklyn was gone. Racetrack came over. He looked worried when he sat down next to Blink, who was trying to comfort Crutchy. He had turned him over onto his back and now Crutchy was looking up at Blink.

"Blink...youse didn't hafta ... go and ... and do dat." Crutchy gasped out in pain. Blink shook his head.

"Nah, youse are worth it. Hang on, Crutchy, hang on, please." whispered Blink.

"Dat's...nothing. Youse are ...gonna have trouble." replied Crutchy. Blink once again shook his head.

"Is don't care. All I care 'bout right now is youse." he said. Crutchy looked at me and then back at Blink.

"No, don't...do...it." Crutchy answered.

"Crutchy, I ain't gonna leave youse ta die! I'm gonna do more 'bout youse dan dat!" Blink practically yelled through tears. Race and I looked at each other, and I knew Race was ready to cry as well. I was too.

Crutchy looked bad. He was suffering greatly, and none of us knew what to do. Blink tried to stand up but fell slightly.

"Youse okay, Blink?" Race asked, worriedly.

"Yes." Blink said, nodding. Crutchy moaned and looked like he was getting ready to faint.

Then Blink stood up and told Race to help him with Crutchy, who went unconscious all of sudden. The two of them carried him and I took his crutch and hobbled in. They got Crutchy into the same bunk as before. I put myself in the bunk next to his. Blink and Race sat down in chairs next to Crutchy's bunk. Blink observed the newly beaten back of Crutchy, and then turned him over and we just sat there.

"We'se need Kloppman." Race said suddenly.

"We's need a doc and Kloppman." replied Blink. Race nodded and stood up. Then he left, running.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Author's Note: Okay, so, I might've lied a little bit earlier on because it won't be until Chapter Eight that is... newly redone. I probably said earlier on that it would be at Chapter Seven, but that was mostly just a guess. Not that any of you care, all you care about is reading the chapter and waiting for the next one. But nonetheless, here is Chapter Seven.

When Race came back, after a long time of waiting, Crutchy had been awake for half an hour. The doctor, Kloppman and Race all ran in. The doctor took Blink's seat willingly and started checking Crutchy, who was as silent as ever. I didn't know how, though. Doctor Jacob looked extremely worried.

"How long ago did this happen?" he asked.

"'Bout two hours 'go." replied Blink.

"This isn't good. Not good at all..." said the doctor, shaking his head.

"Sir, will he be alright?" asked Kloppman. The doctor shook his head again.

"No idea. This is much to bad. All we can do is hope." he said. "What about you?"

"Oh, I be... 'kay." I lied, snapping out of my thoughts.

"No he's not, jus' check 'im, 'e got hurt too." said Blink. The doctor came over and checked on me.

He touched me in my ribs and stomach, and I grimaced and nearly cried. My bad leg was hurting as well, and badly. It was bad. I was scared for myself, and Crutchy. What on earth had we done to deserve this pain? I had no idea.

When the doctor went back to looking at Crutchy, he also poked him and I could see that Crutchy was feeling the same as I had during that kind of procedure. Blink looked ready to cry again. Race was clutching his right hand with his left, and Kloppman was watching the doctor carefully. I looked at Crutchy again, and he was still trying not to cry or grimace, and he looked back at me. I smiled slightly at him, and he managed to smile back.

"There's ... both of them are bad looking. I really can't do anything about Crutchy here, but I can do one thing for Micky. I suggest surgery on your bad leg, if it can be done. That is a mere idea, and I can offer it to you, but I can't guarantee anything about it. It is an extremely dangerous procedure." said the doctor, looking at me. "In the meantime, I have another appointment and must get to it soon, so call on me if you want me."

The doctor left, and Kloppman followed burst into tears and sat with Crutchy as he cried. Crutchy lifted his hand and touched Blink's shoulder. Blink grabbed his wrist before Crutchy could put his hand down. When he grasped it, he looked at Crutchy. I was right next to both of them, and I touched Crutchy's foot, trying to get his attention.

"What will da oders say?" I asked him. He shrugged.

Later, the other newsies came in. The first ones in stopped, blocking the door way from the others for 15 minutes until Blink told them to move. Many changed and then came over to where Crutchy was. He was still conscious, and somehow, so was I.

"What happened?!" exclaimed Mush.

"Cool it, Mush, cool it. Dey are gonna pay, but righ' now we need help." said Blink.

"But, hows we's gonna jus' ignore dis? We gotta do sometin' 'bout it!" yelled Race, suddenly tired of waiting, obviously. Blink looked at him, almost glaring through his one eye.

"Race, we's will. But wese ain't gonna do nothin' yet. I ain't no more happier dan youse all. I migh' be worse. But wait an' see." Blink yelled. Race was quiet and mumbled "sorry."

"Bu' Blink, I ain't gonna sit heah." said another boy.

"Is nose." Blink said.

"Don'ts... get youseselves...killed." Crutchy wheezed out. They all shut up at that.

"See?" said Blink, sighing.

"Wese... what happened?" asked another boy named Flip.

"Dese guys...came ta me, ... a family, but...but widout dere mudder an'...one bruddah. Dey took me...me into da park, put me in...in da watah, an' I had ta get out. Den I was...beaten a bit. Dey made...me get Crutchy, den...den dey hurt him an' den Blink...Blink found us." I said, then Blink took over.

"Is fought, den dey...dey beat Crutchy aftah I was held down on da ground. Den, dey threatened us an' Race came wid Spot, Is tink dat's wha' happened, da order at least." Kid Blink finished. His eye still was wet.

"Dey, who's dey?" asked a boy.

"Tom, Isabella,...Lisa, an' Jerry, ...Mark wasn't dere." I said. "Rich kiddies...dey are."

The room was silent as they took this in. Kloppman turned up. He looked worried, but then glad that everyone was there, that's what I guessed. He came over.

"You okay?" he asked Crutchy. Crutchy didn't really answer, just looked at Kloppman, and the man got the mental note, because he grimaced and shook his head.

"Kloppman, wese gonna need help." Blink said. Kloppman looked at him sharply.

"What on earth do you mean?"

"Da police are gonna get mad an' come aftah us."

"That's lovely." groaned Kloppman.

"We'se gonna fight dem." said Skittery. Kloppman nodded, and left quickly.

"Dis be...my, my fault." Crutchy said. We all looked at him.

"It's not! Don't youse say dat, I won't let youse!" yelled Blink, looking at Crutchy.

"It...was me..who got dere...dere attention." struggled Crutchy.

"Don't youse say dat! Don't say dat! Dey were lookin' for trouble. Get dat idea outa youse head!" Blink said, looking ready to cry again. The others were silent as Blink and Crutchy dealt it out.

"If only...I hadn't hit...dat kid." muttered Crutchy. He was looking up at Kid Blink with honesty in his eyes.

"Don't youse do nothing' ta blame youself. Stop, jus' stop sayin' dis. Is ain't blamin' youse." Blink said quietly.

"Yeah, Is know. Jus'... let me...do it. I...I be da...da one who's...who's ta blame. I ain't...ain't got any ting...ting ta deny 'bout it." answered Crutchy.

"Crutch, Is can't leave youse. Youse are more important ta me den dat whole problem." Blink choked out. Crutchy grabbed his hand and looked at Blink.

"Don't fight...over dis. Is ain't..worth it."

"Youse will always be worth it, Crutch, always." Blink replied quietly.

"Hey, sorry ta break dis up, but someone's heah." said Race all of a sudden.

Blink allowed the person in, and incame, to our amazement, Lisa, Mark, and Isabella followed them, looking unhappy and uncomfortable with all of the guys around her. The newsies looked at the girls and the boy angrily. Something told me Race had told them all about the enemy. The girls and the boy came over and Blink stood up, letting go of Crutchy, but guarding him.

"Whats da youse wan'?" he asked. "Are youse all?"

"No, we are not all. Jerry's here as well. We came because of..." Lisa explained bravely and loudly and clear.

Jerry walked in, even more nervous. I saw one newsie crack his knuckles. Jerry gulped and ran to his siblings. They stood in front of Blink, not able to get to the door because it was guarded by newsies.

"Why didn't you allow us in?" asked Isabella.

"'Cause of what youse did ta him an' Micky." Kid Blink said angrily, stepping sideways to show them Crutchy, and I looked at them as well.

They looked at Crutchy first and the girls both looked grossed out, Mark was staring, and Jerry whimpered. I was equally as bad looking, so they wore the same faces when they saw me. Crutchy coughed and I saw blood. Jerry nearly ran out the door.

"Look, whys youse want ta come anyway? Look what youse done! Youse were part of dis!" Blink yelled. "Jerry heah, he's da whole darn cause of it! Now tell me I ain't gonna worry 'bout my friend heah who could die!"

They looked more frightened. Blink was really furious now and would be going on about it. Crutchy touched Blink's shirt.

"Don't...let dem speak. Dey...could be nice." he said. "Or...dey could...jus' need..help."

Blink looked at him and smiled. I knew he was thinking about how Crutchy was nice to everyone and would never be mean to people if he could help it. But I knew Crutchy was serious. The kids were looking at him in awe. Crutchy was looking at the roof of his bunk.

"Crutch, dey may be dangerous." Blink said.

"Jus'...let 'em...speak." was the reply from Crutchy.

"Youse heard 'im, speak." said Boots.

Author's Note: This is not meant to be gay, did I mention? No, it's just brotherly love. I hope everyone understands this because I do not write slash. Let me repeat: I-DO-NOT-WRITE-SLASH. Slash anything. I am saying this because I don't want people to get the wrong idea off of this. Thank you for understanding, and please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Author's Note: Once again, two chapters to one story in one day! Yay! I hope to start writing a Gravity Falls fanfiction story/chapter soon, during my trip in New York, so expect one on that topic soon! This will most likely be my last chapter before I go away, but don't worry, afterwards, there will be more chapters when I get back. Anyways, here's ...wait for it...Chapter Eight!

"Well, I don't know how this happened. I wasn't there!" Mark said, sounding like he was trying to get his way out of the problem.

"Yeah, well, youse still teased dem." said Blink, not letting this boy past his guard.

"Well...well the kid was rude to my mother and that one is a gimp. They both..." said Mark, trailing off when he saw the look in Blink's eyes.

"You call him "gimp" one more time and I'll hurt ya, I'll hurt ya real bad!" yelled Blink.

"Yeah, he be nicer den all of us." said Race.

"An' bein' a cripple don't do nothin'. Say da word "gimp" one more time an' I'll hurt youse bad."

"Well..."answered Mark but then he stayed quiet.

"You don't get the right to this telling off! Be quiet, and don't hit my brother!" Isabella said, looking terrified and defiant at the same time.

"He can fight his own fights, he be older dan youse anyway, it's clear." Blink answered. Isabella stared at him.

"Yeah, how darn good can he fight?" asked a newsie.

"Don, don't cause no fights yet. Jus' wait." Blink said and Don was quiet.

"We don't see why the death of two simple, plain, newsboys should affect the world." Isabella said. "Society doesn't need the gimps."

"Now youse listen heah! "Da World" do care because dey are losin' money, but dat's not me point. Me point is dat Crutchy is needed heah, and is a bruddah to us like Mark is ta youse. An' so's Micky to the Bronx. Crutchy's da one who widout, we'd nevah be nice ta youse an' wouldn't have any hope dat ya wouldn't try ta get us in youse traps dat ya set out for da newsboys!" yelled Blink. "Ah, yes, da traps. Policemen, an' dey ain't nice ta us. If youse weren't a goil, I would hurt ya bad! But since youse are, I'm gonna fight Mark heah."

"No!" cried Lisa. Blink moved in front of Mark who glared back but I could see that he was terrified. Crutchy suddenly screamed, and we all turned to see Jerry ready to hit Crutchy in the stomach again. The boy had managed to sneak through the crowd, and I hadn't seen him.

Lisa had seen him and had been in concern for him. Isabella looked smug and scared for Mark. Blink bellowed at Jerry who sat down and whimpered. Crutchy was closer to crying and I could see he was tearing up. I stared as Blink came back and picked up Jerry.

"Who told youse ta do dat?" he yelled.

"Isa-Isabella." Jerry miserably said, looking at the ground. Blink put him down and turned on Isabella.

"Does dis really not mattah ta youse? I don't see why youse enjoy torture!" he yelled now facing the siblings. "Youse are gonna kill 'im!"

Crutchy looked up at Blink and then at me. I knew he was in unbearable pain, and I was as well, so I really couldn't help him. Blink turned to Crutchy.

"Blink...don't..." Crutchy said but stopped. Blink looked ready to cry again. I could only hear because I was so close to them.

"Youse are gonna be fine. Hold on." Blink whispered back. Then he turned to Mark. "I'm gonna beat youse up. Let's have a go. Come on, do dis." he said. Mark nodded.

The two of them started off fast. Blink and Mark threw and kicked fast. I watched silently. Then, Mark sat down abruptly and was done. It was quick. Isabella ran forward to her brother. Blink stepped back and then came back over to Crutchy.

"Crutch, hold on. I'm sorry ta fight dem, he brought dis upon hiself." Blink said, sitting down next to Crutchy.

"Blink...don't do...nothin' stupid." Crutchy said.

"Hold on. Don't leave me, an' Micky, youse ain't gonna eider. Don't hurt any of youselves, it ain't neider of youse fault." replied Kid Blink softly.

"No...nevah. It ain't youse fault." Crutchy gasped and grabbed Blink's hand. Blink looked at him sadly.

Then Crutchy looked at me, and I nodded at him, and he back. I felt tears of pain, sadness, and just despair going down my cheeks.

Crutchy still held Blink's wrist and let go if it and lay there, not unconscious, just staring at the roof of his bunk. Blink was crying silently, and the other newsies were quiet. Isabella, Mark, Lisa, and Jerry were talking in hushed voices. Blink looked at Crutchy then me. He was in physical pain because of the both of us and how we had both ended up, and how I was from a different borough and that now he would have to deal with the Bronx group too, and just everything in general that had happened.

"Don't neider of youse blame youselves, got dat?" said Blink. Crutchy and I only looked at him, not sure wether to answer.

After a few minutes, Crutchy suddenly went unconscious. I felt sleep, pain, and soreness all over me and wondered how I had stayed conscious. Blink was curled up and holding onto Crutchy's hand. The newsies were silent, as were the siblings.

There was something to be said about Kid Blink that night. Most had never seen him cry because he had always seemed so in control, and a leader, not someone who broke down and cried a lot. He now was and I was done, but still felt the dreadful pain and everything.

When Blink sat up, he didn't let go of Crutchy's hand. His left side of his face was tear streaked and his eye red and puffy. Mark came up to him and stood next to him until Blink looked up at him.

"What youse want?" he asked.

"We came with a warning. The police are coming. They heard all about it from everyone in my family. They'll be here tomorrow I expect." Mark replied.

"Tanks. We'se gonna fight dem back, though." said Blink and Mark nodded.

"Can we leave now?"

"Yes, go." said Blink and they walked out.

Blink turned to the newsies. They got the message and started to get ready for bed. Blink would spend the night next to Crutchy. I fell asleep soon after the siblings had left.

Author's Note: I will update as soon as I can when I get back from New York in a week and a half I think. Thank you for reviewing the last few chapters, and review this one please! I will update when I get home, don't worry, you'll just have to wait a little while. But in the meantime, please, please, please, REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Author's Note: As I said, yes, I am updating in New York. But nonetheless, here is Chapter Nine. As we continue, I would like to note a few things. From now to the ending, it is all redone. But nonetheless, this is chapter nine, and somehow I am still alive. I am writing a new Newsies story, by the way, and a gravity falls one as well. So onto chapter nine!

I awoke in the morning to find Blink still asleep, and the other newsies getting ready for the morning. Crutchy was awake as well, and he looked at me. I smiled, or slightly tried to. He did so back. Race came over and told me that some cops were at the door speaking with Kloppman and that Blink should wake up.

Crutchy woke him up. He looked around blearily, and then looked at Crutchy and me.

"What's goin' on?" he asked.

"Dere's police….police out…dere." I said.

"Great." Blink said, sighing.

The police came in eventually. Blink stood up, guarding Crutchy. The other newsies had left and Racetrack was the only one who had remained. The police came in and stood in front of Kid Blink.

"We had reports of violence." said one, who's name tag read "Johnson".

"Yeah, dat's right if dis is jus' somtin' dat youse are gonna accuse us of." said Blink. "Bet dey didn't tell ya dat some of ours got hurt in da process."

"What do you mean?" asked another policeman named Don.

Kid Blink stepped back and revealed Crutchy, and pointed at me as well.

"Dis is Crutchy Morris, an' dat's Micky. Both of them were injured an' beat up by da kids in dat family. An' dey didn't tell youse." explained Blink. He shook his head. "Dose people was only worrin' fer demselves."

The policemen were staring at me and Crutchy, obviously alarmed and then began to write things down on their pads. Kid Blink was positively fuming and was glaring at them. Crutchy and I exchanged looks again, and he seemed to be worried as much as I was.

"They demanded we come here. But they said that the youngest, Jerry, was beaten by one of these boys here." said Don. He was looking at Blink and seemed to be very serious with this.

"Can't a crip protect hisself?" asked Blink.

"What was this so-called stick that he hit the boy with?" said Don, pressing Blink.

"It was his crutch. Dat's 'llowed, ain't it?" Race said with a fierce look on his face. The man turned to him.

"Oh was it?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah it was. Dere's enough proof of dat ta hold you ovah for a while." replied Blink.

"And the other was rude to the whole family." said John.

"Dat's no crime. Neider is protectin' youseself." Blink yelled.

"Don't yell, young man. We are just doing our job. There might be a court case on this. In the meantime, we will tell you if there is one. It is up to you if you want your friends thrown in jail, or if you would like to argue against the Downing family." said Don, and the two of them left.

Blink was fuming when he sat down again. I could tell that this was not what he had intended to happen. I didn't see any reason for there to be court case either. All we had done was be teased and tried to be nice back, in Crutchy's case, this hadn't worked very well. But we were the injured ones. I just didn't understand why we had been targeted.

The rest of the morning went by. I was quiet most of the time, as was Crutchy, and Blink and Race talked a good bit. By lunchtime, we were ready to eat. Even Crutchy was, and Blink managed to get food. Crutchy fell asleep, and Kid Blink came over to me then.

"Youse okay?" he asked.

"Hurtin' all...all ovah." I answered. Blink looked at me.

"Ise jus' wish dis hadn't happened. Dis is stupid, da idea of havin' a court case ovah notin'. I remember when Crutchy came heah." Blink said.

"What 'bout…'bout it?" I asked, wondering if it was a good story or not.

"Nah, youse don't wanna heah it."

"Tell…tell me. Come on." I said.

"Yeah, Ise don't know da story eider." said Race. "I ain't come from Brooklyn yet."

"Oh, alright." Blink gave in. "Dere was a time when dere was anudder leader, named Tommy Cat…"

Author's Note: Alright, you will hear the rest of the story in the next chapter. It is a summary of "The Cripple That is Within Us", just so you know. But it might have some things that the whole story did not, so I implore you to read it. Please do, and please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Author's Note: Wee! Here I am again, and back home, too. I see that I have blown people's minds with the idea of both stories tying together. Did I mention that this story is where I got that story to happen? I was writing this story and then realized that the story in it would make a great story all by itself. It was amazing. At any rate, you will now hear the rest of this summary of the story in this chapter, and I implore you, as I said in the last chapter, implore you to read this because it will have different details and some other insights. Just read it! So here is Chapter Ten, and I want you to read it because of what I said a few sentences ago. Read on...

"Tommy Cat hated cripples.(As some of you already have found out.) I was in favor of this opinion. Den one day, I started, as dey all say, actin' funny. Tommy Cat noticed, ta my dissapointment. He made da oders spy on me. Bu' none of dem evah foun' out 'bout what I was hidin'. An' den, one day, Tommy foun' out 'bout wha' I was hidin'. I had, if ya haven't guessed it yet, a cripple in me bedroom.

'Well, den Tommy Cat got real mad. He stormed inta me room, an' so did all da oders. I stood in fron' of da cripple, so dat he couldn't see da boy. Den, Tommy came up ta me.

"'Move it, Blink!" he yelled, bu' I didn'. I would pay for dat.

'Tommy pushed me, an' den da two of us starte' ta fight. I was angry, an' dat helped me figh' him. Den, we stopped. I moved back in front of da bed. Tommy den pushed me down, hard, real hard, an' I yelled at him. Bu' Tommy Cat had already seen da cripple inside da bed. Dat boy had brown hair, green eyes, an' was skinny. He was tall lookin' fer 'is age. Tommy roared in anger, an' I den felt two hands hol' me down. Tommy was lookin' at da boy in disbelief.

"'What is dis?" he yelled at me.

"'Is foun' him at da door. He was scared. Den I take 'im in. But Is couldn' tell youse." I replied.

'Den da cripple on da bunk looked up at Tommy Cat. I tink he was impressed wid da leader. He was only 10. Bu' Tommy Cat ha' no sympathy for him. He looked at me again.

"'I gonna hurt him, not youse. But youse are gonna watch, an' so's everyone else.'" Tommy Cat said. I was held down an' couldn't do nothin'.

'Tommy Cat started ou' by takin' a stick, a branch, tossed ta him by anudder boy, an' started ta beat da boy wid it. Tommy tortured 'im. I didn't know what ta do, an' when he finished, I stood up an' was ready ta injure Tommy as bes' as possible. Da cripple on da bed, he was cryin'. Tears, I mean, sobbing. I stared Tommy down.

"'Let dis one in a' least!'" I yelled.

'Tommy Cat only gave in dat day 'cause da cripple didn't look like he'd make it. He was cryin' an' in pain, so none of da oders or Tommy though' dat he would make it.

'Bu' I was all ovah da cripple. Dat was one of da few times I would evah see da cripple cry. Me an' Tommy had real arguements, 'bout three, aftah dat. Da cripple survived, an' we ha' ta give him a name. An' wese did. Dat was the only time I be seein' Crutchy cry fer a long time aftah dat. An' eventually, he grew.

'At da age of 12, he was tall few his own good. Taller den me, almost. But he wasn't. 'Cause if he hadn't da crutch, he'd be tall. Tommy Cat forgave me an' den became friends wid Crutchy. I, we all, loved 'im, Crutchy, I mean. He was wonderful. He is da most optimistic newsie I'll evah meet. Den Tommy Cat an' anudder newsie, named Red got put in da refuge. (Yes, you will hear more about that in my other story.) I became da leader. But dat's how Crutchy came inta da newsie world." finished Blink.

I sat there, thinking. Crutchy hadn't gone into that much detail earlier when he had told how he had become a newsie to me. But then again, I had left out details as well when I had been describing how my life had been early on to him, so it seemed fair and square that neither of us had gone into much detail.

Blink sat back and I could see the worry on his face. He was pretty much exhausted, and I knew that he was really worried. I didn't know what to say, but then I decided not to say anything. Blink wouldn't want to hear what I had to say anyway, because it didn't matter now.

Two days later, the court case happened. It was interesting how we had gotten there, because it had involved a lot of force.

Early in the morning, the police men had come. Kid Blink had confronted them in a ferocious manner and had told them to go away, which they of course, did not. Then they made their way into the

lodging house and grabbed me and Crutchy. Don clapped irons on me and dragged me out, and John did the same to Crutchy. Blink was angry, but Racetrack held him back. The other newsies were yelling and I saw that they were being held back by other policemen, or "bulls" in our world. Kid Blink tried to break through, but a bull hit him on the head and I think he went unconscious. Crutchy and I were dragged to a wagon, and shoved in.

I lay on the floor next to him, and we didn't move. I was in pain, and I am sure he was as well. In a lot of it, that is. And now we had to go to this court case. Kloppman, I had heard from Blink before we left, was making sure that the newsies went to the courtroom, and that he was as well. I knew that the old man was nice enough to do this, considering he had been concerned for me and Crutchy in the first place.

But now everything looked like it wasn't going to get any better. I had no idea why we had to do this; it was over a silly thing. But I guess that the Downings weren't going down without a fight, and neither were we, or so I hoped. There had to be a way out of this. Somehow, we had to survive and come through this unscathed and without having caused major trouble. But I doubted that we would.

And so, we went on our way to the court house. I had no idea what would happen, and I didn't think that it would be a great or good outcome. The coach stopped at the courthouse and we got out, struggling with our crutches. The police had brought these for us, and I figured not out of concern or sympathy.

Crutchy and I hobbled slowly to the door of the room of the courthouse. The bulls kept us out there for a few minutes, then instructed us to go to the courtroom that we would be in, giving us directions. Crutchy looked at me and I grinned grimly back at him, knowing that this was extremely painful for him and not just me. We entered the door of the courtroom and stood there for a moment, long enough for me to take in the people all around the room.

Author's Note: So there is Chapter Ten. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I hope you read the story summary because it is worth it. Maybe that was a little bit more of a gloomy chapter... I don't know, I guess it's just because of what has happened. Well, the next chapter will be coming up, and please review this chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: Hello again! I was busy yesterday and left for Virginia that same day, and returned home today, so, yeah, here I am again. I didn't mention this, I meant to, but this is an awesome piece of information that I learned about my family. My mother's side all, and I mean, everyone, comes from Brooklyn. I am totally relishing this, and it is so awesome I don't know how to describe it. I guess I am going to have to write something on Spot C. sometime, but not right now. Nonetheless, this has me totally pumped every time I think about it. And to TeamJacob1998 for the review on "The Cripple That is Within Us", thank you! Sometimes I have those moments where some wonderful sentence pops up in my brain like that. Not to sound like I am snobby or anything, but that was a pretty good ending for that story. I like it a **lot**. Okay, well, back to this story. Here is Chapter Eleven!

We hobbled in slowly. When we entered the room, after the judge told us to come, I could see that the offenders side of the room was covered in newsies. I saw Blink and Checkers, and both looked extremely worried.

I reached my chair, and it seemed that I did the same as Crutchy; we both collapsed down into the chairs and I closed my eyes for a moment. I opened them, and then looked around at the defensive side, and saw Mrs. Downing's face. She looked disgusted, probably at the way we looked. So was Tom, but I didn't know why he was surprised because he had done this to the both of us. The judge pounded the gavel.

"Order in the court! May we have the offensive side, the Downing family, stand up and tell us their case and claim."he said. Mrs. Downing stood up.

"I stand before you today with proof that these newsboys have to be punished! Both of the ones up front insulted me and my family, and one of them hit my boy with his crutch. My youngest, that is. And Jerry was limping and had a bad bruise. He even broke something! And then my oldest, Tom, and my other one, Mark, got beat up by a newsboy. That is my complaints, summarized, of course." she said. The judge looked at the rest of the family, the lawyer, and the other people on the offensive side.

"Is there proof?" he asked.

"This is my leg!" yelled Jerry, and lifted it up to show the cast.

"There are bruises on my two sons, they suffered." said Mrs. Downing. "And one came home terrified."

"Alright, then. We have proof. What do the defenders say about this?" the judge asked. "This means that the convicted and friends of the convicted may speak."

I looked up at the judge, and began to speak.

"Firs' off, dey were...were teasin' us, sos...sos we had...had a right ta do whatevah... whatevah we wanted ta dem. Den, ...den dey hurt me an' Crutchy. I got...got nearly drownded, an'...an' he be nearly...nearly half dead. Dey hur' us...us, more den we did ...did ta dem." I said. "Does dis...dis look fair ta youse? Dem...dem hurtin' us an'...an' nearly killin' da both of us, compared...compared ta fights...fights an' one broken..broken bone?"

I had angered the offensive side alright. The defensive side, which, as I had said, consisted of newsies only, (and Kloppman), went in uproars of approval; I saw Kid Blink yelling and Checkers as well. The judge pounded the gavel once more.

"Alright! Does this hold true?" he asked. Blink stood up.

"Yes sir, it does! He be righ', an' wes agree. Dere's nothin' more to it. See, wese care for da both of dese two, an' we don't wan'ts neider of dem gone." said Blink.

"What about this newsboy who fought Mark and Tom?" the judge said. The newsies were silent. All of their eyes, including mine and Crutchy's, turned to Blink, who didn't look scared or even flinched at all. "Who was it?" the judge asked again.

"It be me, sir." Blink said, but he was still staring at the judge with not fear, but contempt and anger. "Is did dis 'cause oderwise, dey would both be dead. An' one of da boys, Tom, made 'is goons hold me down an' watch Crutchy get tortured. Da youse know how hard dat is? Watchin' youse closest friend get beat up an' youse can't do nothin'? It be hard. Is fought dem 'cause dey asked for it."

The judge looked at Blink suspiciously.

"Is this all true?" he asked.

"Well, he fought me because otherwise he would have hurt Isabella. But I wasn't hurt too badly." Mark stood up and said. "Even Jerry did something, and that was the reason I fought. Jerry inflicted pain on one of them. That was why I had to fight."

"What if we bring in someone else?" the judge said. He made a hand motion and in came a tall, brown haired, green eyed man.

Crutchy had been watching others for a while, but at the sight of this man, he cried out then looked away. The room was silent, so silent a feather could have dropped and everyone would have heard it. Crutchy and the man then glared at each other, and the man started shouting.

"Nice bein' a convict yourself, eh?" the man yelled.

"Youse keep your mouth shut!" Crutchy somehow yelled back. He looked really angry, and really scared, almost as if he was in mental pain.

"You nevah were any help ta me. Why did you let him come in and not just call him condemned?" the man said.

"Now, now, Martin, don't yell. Just let me know when you are ready to speak." the judge said. "You can wait if you would like."

"I be done with waitin'. It's been years! I ain't going to wait round now!" Martin said. Crutchy looked at him again.

"Youse know...know why it be years? 'Cause..'cause youse were a horrible fadder!" he yelled. The newsies all gaped, well, everybody did. I did too, and some even gasped. Blink looked confused, and I saw Race standing, gaping, his cigar had fallen out of his mouth.

"Yeah, well, yous were not da kid I needed." said Martin Morris. Crutchy seemed to glare harder at the judge.

"Whys he in...in heah? Sos..sos he can... can torture me? He's done...done dat already!" Crutchy said to the judge.

"Because we needed more proof." the judge replied. "Now, Martin, would your son hurt anyone without a purpose?"

"What you mean? Nah, he was too soft. Always, nevah, bein' mean. He'd only get mad if you did somethin' to him, an' even den it would take a lot to get anythin' outta him. Nah, he be a weakling." said Martin. Crutchy wasn't looking at anybody anymore. He was watching the ceiling.

"This is true, I suppose, from a father? How about a friend?" asked the judge. I looked at him.

"Dis is true." I replied. He nodded gravely.

Martin came forward to the judge. Crutchy stared at the back of his father. I wondered what might be going through his head, except that he was in mental pain and physical pain now. Kid Blink was still staring disbelievingly at Martin. Crutchy suddenly cried out in pain, and only a few people's heads did not look at him. Martin looked at him and I didn't see any sorrow in his facial expression at all. Crutchy looked humiliated and he looked over at me. I didn't know what to say, but I smiled slightly at him. I was in pain too, and was surprised that the same thing hadn't happened to me yet.

Martin was talking to the judge about something. The judge told him to find a seat and he sat down in a chair on Crutchy's side of the space in front of the judge. The judge started talking to the family again.

"So do we still hold charges against them other than those that have already been made?" the judge asked.

"I have an opinion to state." said Mrs. Downing.

"Ma'am, we do not ask for that. Only the offensive problems, not opinions should be stated now." the judge told her.

"Well, they were rude towards us." she said, trying to protect her pride, obviously. The judge nodded agreeably.

"We got that. The problem is, Mrs. Downing, your boys hurt these newsboys more than the other hurt them back. This could be something to consider." the judge said.

The room was filled with whispers from the jury all of a sudden and the judge was also talking. Finally, the panel seemed to come to a decision about something. But what the judge said next did not exactly relieve me.

"Alright. This will continue after the panel has had lunch break." he said. The panel began to leave.

Author's Note: So there is Chapter Eleven. I will try to get up the next chapter soon, but school starts for me on Tuesday, and I will still type during the school year, but I am still frantically typing stories left and right. Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Author's Note: Here is Chapter 12. And the same day this is posted, is the same day that Newsies is leaving Broadway, and I am really, really, really sad. But none the less, I am going to continue writing this, and chapter one of my next newsies story will be posted after this, except that it is based off of the musical, not the movie, just to let you know so that you can find it. Alright, so on with chapter twelve!

I should have known that the calm would not last. The police hadn't returned to get Martin yet. And he was still glaring and looking angry at Crutchy.

"I hope they condemn youse." he said to Crutchy, loud enough that I could hear.

"Youse already are, sos...sos don't keep youse...youse hopes up." replied Crutchy. Martin got up and stood in front of Crutchy, who looked scared but also partly defiant. Martin was fuming.

"Don't youse say that again. Youse know me enough ta know dat!" Martin said to him.

Before I or Crutchy could react, Martin had hit Crutchy in the gut and grabbed him and pulled him out of the chair. I stood up, but Martin had already started hitting Crutchy in the back. Blink ran down, yelling at the top of his lungs. The police couldn't even beat Blink down to Martin and Crutchy. In seconds, Blink had pulled Martin off of Crutchy who had been screaming. Blink was fighting Martin, who was tougher than he looked. The police came and pulled Martin off of Blink. Kid Blink went over to Crutchy, who was as pale as a sheet and as scared looking as ever.

"Blink...he, I nevah told...told youse." he said.

"Dat's okay, youse are gonna be fine." Blink replied.

Mrs. Downing and her family looked astounded. The other newsies were staring, and Blink was glaring from his one eye at Martin. Crutchy was gasping and looking ready to cry, and was gripping Blink's arms. I myself couldn't believe how fast I had stood up and sat down again, in pain from that movement. The newsies were now yelling at Martin Morris who was being escorted quickly by the police. I wondered then if the judge would be notified.

But the judge didn't come, and wouldn't until lunch break was over. When Martin was finally out of the room, the newsies quieted down and talked amongst themselves. Checkers came down, and came up to me.

"What on earth did ya do ta get dis?" he asked me.

"Nothin' much." I replied. "Is...what dey said I did."

He looked at me. I knew I wasn't his closest friend in the world, but he cared about all of us in the lodging house in the Bronx. Checkers put his arm around me and then told me "good luck, an' if ya don't get out, we'sll get ya out." Then he headed back up. I was now worried about everything. The police hadn't cared about one boy who was already badly hurt enough that the judge should have been alerted. The Downing family might have had a change of heart at one point, but now, I had no idea. Crutchy was regaining color in his face, but still looked like a nightmare had come true for him, as it probably had. Blink hadn't let go of him.

Then, the panel started to fill up again. Blink tried to help Crutchy up, but Crutchy would have none of it. He got himself into a sitting position. The judge came in, and was astonished to find Crutchy on the floor.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Your oder "witness" tried ta basically kill his own son. I dunno hows dey didn't tell ya, but it happened." Blink said angrily.

"And the police didn't tell me?" the judge said. "Then how do I know that this isn't some sort of fake lie told to me?"

"'Cause youse oder "witness" ain't heah anymore."

"Then he must've... well, I guess you are telling the truth. Martin was always mean like that, he didn't need liquor or alcohol to get his sprits up."

"Can dis be a complaint wese can make?" Kid Blink asked, clearly struggling to hold back his anger and to not yell at the judge for being so stupid.

"No, because he was on your side."

"No he ain't. He got nothin' ta be wid us, but a lot ta be against us."

"At any rate, the court has come to a decision." the judge veered off of the subject and going to another. "Yes, these newsboys are guilty for being rude, but not for their injuries which the children of the Downing family were the cause of. Even though the newsboys did fight, this does not hold against them being as it was done as protection and not out of the need to fight, which, I am sorry to say, was the intentions, as it appears, of the boys and girls of the Downings. And so, the newsboys are cleared of all charges. The Downing family must pay up for using this court room and for accusing boys who did nothing against them but defend themselves. Court is dismissed."

At that, the gavel came down one last time. I breathed a sigh of relief, then tried to move and felt immediate pain.

Checkers and Kid Blink talked for a moment, then Checkers came over to me. He looked concerned.

But before I say what he said to me, I would like to note on what the Downing family were doing at that moment, and that is, panicking. The Mrs. of the family was angry, the children as well, and the Mr. didn't look like he had a care in the world for the problems, and when he saw me watching him, he winked at me, and nodded. I then knew that he had been on my side the whole time, he didn't agree with his wife or kids. I nodded back, then turned back to Checkers.

"Blink said dat da doctor told ya 'bout a surgery dat you could go trough. Youse interested, 'cause he say dat you ain't gotta pay." said Checkers.

"Yeah, maybe. We'se...we'se gonna...gonna stay in ...in Manhattan tonight, right?"

"Yeah, dat's da plan. Roller an' Maple are as well, bu' da rest of da Bronx are goin' home." explained Checkers and I nodded.

And we made our way back to the lodging house. Checkers had me on his back, I had allowed him to carry me, and Crutchy was as well, he had gone unconscious. When we got back, there was the matter of this surgery that I could do on my bad leg that I had to worry about.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Have you seen the Newsies cast ice bucket challenge on Youtube, because you need to. Look it up if you haven't. I thought it was awesome, tell me if you've seen it. At any rate, review please!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Author's Note: It's Labor day, and I'm typing stories! But it's much more fun than school or work. I am glad to bring to you the next chapter of this story, finally, and I will probably bring the next one as well. In the meantime, yes, Newsies doing the ice bucket challenge was priceless, and yes, I did cry when I saw the last, or final bow of Newsies on Broadway, both times I watched it. It was heartbreaking. I can't believe they are gone... but nonetheless, Newsies forever, second to none, fansies forever as well, and we will keep writing fanfiction forever on Newsies! So onto chapter thirteen!

I was tired and defeated feeling as we walked into the lodging house. Checkers put me down on a bed, and I just lay there, in pain and too tired to be bothered. But next thing I knew, Checkers was asking me questions.

"Micky... what about this surgery? Are you going to do it? Is it worth it? I mean, it will solve your leg problem, but... you know. It's risky." he said, in concern.

"Yeah...yeah I will...will do it. I hafta...hafta ta get somewhere. Dere ain't...aint nothin' in da world...da world dat I can't see not happenin' now. I hafta...hafta do dis, Checkers."

"I know. It's jus', dis way, dis way youse gotta choice. If ya wanna do it, den we'sll tell Kloppman an' da doctor."

"Al-alright." I replied, and Checkers left to find Kloppman. I saw Crutchy wake up next to me.

He looked over at me and tried to smile, I did the same back. It was hard, and I knew that Crutchy would've wanted me to do the surgery. He would've if he could, but I knew he couldn't and would never walk straight. I had hope to do so again. And I knew that he wouldn't mind, we could still be friends. But I knew that he wouldn't feel comfortable, or nearly as comfortable being the only crip out of the both of us. I didn't know. Maybe he would. Maybe he wouldn't. But I had to do this. It was needed, I wanted to badly.

Kloppman came back and with the doctor half an hour later. The doctor came over to me, and I knew he knew that I was in pain. This surgery would hurt more, but maybe not much, I didn't know.

"So, you think you want to do it?" the doctor asked me.

"Yeah." I replied, quietly.

"This could be dangerous, very dangerous. But it will work, or it won't, there's a 50-50 chance that it might or might not."

"Jus'...jus' do it. I tink...tink I be ready." I replied. He nodded.

"We will have to get you to a hospital. You probably have to go anyway, the both of you. I'm thinking you both might have some cracked ribs. And there's plenty more. But come along then." said he, and Checkers picked me up and put me on his back. Blink stood watching. I knew he was nervous for me.

Crutchy didn't come with me that trip. We walked to the hospital and the doctor pointed to a stretcher that Checkers put me on. I lay there, wondering what would happen, not daring to move. The doctor was talking to someone, and then, not too long after, some people came and carried me into a small room. I saw Checkers' worried face, and knew he would be staying here.

They put me to sleep first, and I didn't remember anything after that. I had dreams, strange ones, and good ones. In one, I was walking around town, and there was suddenly a mob in front of me, a gang. In another, Crutchy was talking to me as he sat next to me. Telling me about his life. It wasn't a dream, more of a memory. And then, I just went to deep sleep with no dreams at all.

Pain was not felt. I don't know what they did in there, but whatever it was, I didn't need to know. When I awoke, I was in a bed in a bright white room. I felt a lot of pain. I moved my head, and saw Crutchy in the bed next to me. So he had arrived. How long had I been out? Blink was suddenly next to me before I knew it, and so was Checkers.

"Micky, youse awake, tank goodness!" said Blink. "Ya been out for 4 days."

"We'se didn't tink ya would wake up." said Checkers.

"Wha-oh. What been...been goin' on? Is...is dere anytin' else...else wrong wid...wid me?" I asked.

"A broken rib. Bruises. Major bleeding areas. An' dat leg." replied Checkers.

"Crutchy's got three broken ribs, bruises, bleedin' spots, an' a few oder ting's as well." said Blink. I knew that I wasn't going to recover for while, but would Crutchy ever recover?

I looked over at him. He was staring at the ceiling and was wearing bandages everywhere. I found that I had a bandage on my chest and leg, the old bad leg, and I was in pain, a lot of it. Checkers was watching me. I knew he had been worried, he had circles under his eyes and his eyes themselves radiated worry and pain, mental pain. Blink was as well. But I was grateful for them being slightly upbeat about everything. Now I just had to survive.

Time passed slowly in that hospital. I went unconscious a lot, and I slept, and when I awoke I would find someone else watching me or noone at all. Crutchy would moan and I could only look at him. We did smile slightly at each other sometimes, but didn't talk. I knew he was in bad shape. I was too, and even though it wasn't as bad, I understood his situation pretty well.

And then, finally, a nurse appeared with the doctor. They had told me that I would get the wrapping off of my leg soon, and now was that time. The doctor unraveled it and I felt a good bit of pain. But my leg looked more normal than ever before, even from before when the accident at the store hadn't happened. I flexed it as instructed, and it didn't hurt too badly.

I had mostly recovered by this time and was ready to start walking. For someone who's leaned their weight on a crutch most of their life, it isn't easy not having that extra support. But I didn't need it. Checkers was holding my arm, and I put one foot in front of the other, extremely wobbly and nervous. The first few times I fell and they stopped for a moment or two, laughing. Roller and Maple were there. Blink was often too, and those first steps I took without the crutch, he would laugh along as well. Crutchy watched, and I knew he was proud and would laugh quietly and gently at points.

I eventually got a few steps in without Checkers. Then more and more. I would walk around the whole room once, then come back and kind of collapse. Even when the others weren't there, I practiced. Crutchy watched, and I knew he was enjoying my falls and uplifts. He was getting better, slightly.

My rib had healed and I had less bruises. Any bleeding had gone down to a minimum. But Crutchy still had two ribs that hadn't healed and more bruises. His bleeding had stopped, but he wasn't really cured. I would walk over to him and talk with him. One evening, I sat next to him and talked.

"Crutchy, dere's a lot dat I don' know yet 'bought movin'. Whadda ya tink running's gonna be like?" I asked him.

"I dunno, Micky, dere...dere ain't much I evah have known 'bought dat. Nevah have I been able ta do dat. But it...it migh' be easy."

"Yeah." I said.

"Look, don' put youself down jus' cause I still a crip an' youse cured. I don't mind, not really. It ain' nothin' dat I can' do 'bout it. I ain't...ain't gonna get bettah from dat ting. But it be nice jus' knowin' youse."

"Youse are gonna make it."

"Yeah, I am. Bu' even...even den I ain' makin' no promises dat I ain't gonna ...gonna be slightly jealous of ya sooner or later."

"I'm going ta bed, Crutchy. See ya in da mornin'." I replied, and he nodded. I walked back to my bed, and fell asleep, thinking hard.

Author's Note: There's Chapter Thirteen. Wow, I just solved a few problems. But there will be more. I have some surprises coming up in the next chapter, which is being posted right after this. Please reveiw!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: And now, chapter fourteen. Two chapters in one day! I love doing that. Now, anyway, things might get interesting here. If you don't know, you didn't see the last of that family. *hint, hint*. And you also will connect a little bit with their father. So here we go, because I'm running out of things to say. Onto the last and final chapter!

It was two days later. I was allowed out of the hospital. Blink demanded, well, he demanded to the doctors, to let Crutchy out now, that he would survive at home. The doctors finally agreed. On the walk home, Crutchy was hobbling next to us. He could move, just slowly. I knew how he felt. I was walking much better now. Roller kept poking me as we walked home and laughing every time I jumped. I was a jumpy type, always had been. When I got fed up with him, I moved next to Crutchy.

"Youse okay?" I asked him.

"Bettah den last time I walked dese streets." he replied, smiling at me. "Sos youse."

"Yeah, dat's right, I guess. It ain't nothin', though. Jus' ...I ain't got nothin' ta complain 'bout right now 'cause I can walk and I can walk next ta youse an' still feel short. Dat's a good ting."

"Be quiet. I ain't tall for nothin'." he replied, and grabbed my cap just to prove it. I jumped up and down trying to grab it from him, but he was holding it way above my head.

As I proceeded in every way I could think of to try to get my cap back, we finally reached the lodging house. Crutchy gave my hat back to me and he laughed harder as I put it on my head only to find that a piece of cement had been put in it. A small one, but it still slightly hurt.

"Now how did ya do dat?" I asked him. He just shrugged and smiled.

We walked in to find the newsies all doing something. It was the evening, and they were back from dinner. When we walked in, I knew they were there for another reason. They had stayed for us. Crutchy and I both got slapped on the back several times, even hugged, and Maple, who hadn't come along, kissed me on the cheek in a sisterly way. I knew she was just playing, but there were still plenty of teasing comments after that which Maple just smiled at and shrugged at me.

There was food that Kloppman had set out for us, and I've never welcomed a simple plate of bread, butter, vegetables, and chicken so much. We ate and talked and laughed. I fell asleep that night, comfortable and happy.

The next morning, Crutchy and I went selling one last time together. We stood there, yelling at the top of our lungs, at the corner of Central Park. And then, a boy stopped and stared. It was Jerry, the youngest Downing. The others were close behind. They, too, stopped and stared. I knew it was most likely because of Crutchy's bruises and my being without a crutch. The oldest boy, Tom, was staring with his jaw open.

"What ya starin' at, Tom?!" I said loud enough for him to hear.

"How? When? What?" he said. They approached us.

"You can walk?" asked the youngest girl.

"Yeah, heck I can. It's called surgery." I replied. I saw Crutchy grin out of the corner of my eye.

"Children, what are you-oh." said a man who was their father. I recognized him from the courtroom. "Well, hello again. Even though I haven't said anything to the either of you. Surgery, eh? Good old doctors know how to do that, don't they? I'll take a paper, please."

Crutchy handed him one, and he gave each of us a nickel. Crutchy stared at me, and I at the man.

"Sir, ya don't hafta be so generous." Crutchy said.

"No, you deserve it. That wife of mine sometimes thinks that she's the ruler of this world and I don't like it at all. You just beat her, somehow, in court. You need the money anyway. I know all about that sort of thing, I had to live like that too." he said.

"Well, tanks. I didn't know youse were a newsie." I replied.

"Was, not too long ago, I'm afraid. I got the civil war headlines. Big ones then. But I didn't trust the headlines. They don't sell papes, newsies sell papes. Motto of everyone, and of me. You two are pretty good at it."

"Dose headlines were good, or so Is hear." said Crutchy.

"Yes sir, the civil war was a good one for us newsies. Now you just take those quarters. I think I'll start going to this corner, it's better than the last one I was at. Not quite as interesting. At any rate, you two, be careful and I trust you to not get into any more scandels with me wife, she isn't going to be so nice next time. Good bye!" he said, and the family left. Crutchy had a grin that lit up the whole area, I swore.

"Man, dat was nice. Da nicest ting I seen evah, in ages! It be insane what some tings can do ta ya. Dat was different." he said. I nodded.

We continued to sell papes till about 2:00, and then we went to newsies square. Crutchy and I talked the whole way.

"I'm gonna miss ya." he told me as we approached the square.

"Yeah, so am I. Bu' I can visit whenevah I wants now, 'cause I'll get somewhere faster."

"Jus' stay in touch wid me. I ain't gonna get ta visit youse much. But dat's okay, if youse can do it."

"Yeah." I replied. We came upon Blink, Maple, Roller, and Checkers.

"Well, dat was interestin'. Next time, youse bettah not bring us dat much trouble." said Blink, cracking a grin.

"I promise youse, we ain't gonna." said Checkers in reply.

"Good. I'll see ya around, Maple, Roller, Checkers, an' Micky. I gotta go." said Blink and ran off. Crutchy turned to face me.

"Manhattan's gonna be heah. An' so will I, so visit when ya want." he said.

"So's da Bronx."

Author's Note: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that is the end. Thank you for reading, and I am thinking of writing a sequel soon, so await that, because it might happen. Thank you, and please, please, please review!


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